Software as a Service Production: An Operationalizable Domain Model

Competition among software as a service (SaaS) providers becomes more pressing as new players enter the market. In order to stand competition providers require more efficient production processes. Therefore, automation is key and standardized domain conceptualizations serve as a basis for automation. Existing conceptualizations of IT service production insufficiently connect the business layer, particularly service level agreements (SLA), with the infrastructure and application layer. Such a connection, however, is necessary to provision the service in accordance with the SLA. In order to close this gap, a SaaS production domain model is constructed. Conceptualizations that were identified in the literature and specific SaaS production requirements informed the construction of this model. The model clearly defines the relationships from the SLA to an operationalizable definition of the service. Hence, it includes definitions of the service's infrastructure and application configuration. This means that an information system supporting SaaS production can automatically deploy custom SaaS services that correspond to functional as well as non-functional requirements. Therefore, the composed model contributes twofold. Firstly, it adds to the knowledge base by providing a concise yet comprehensive definition of SaaS productions central entities. Secondly, it can serve as a basis for a data model of a standard business application that supports the production processes of SaaS providers.