SaaSGrid deploys Silverlight as single-instance SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)

Microsoft update: Apprenda, a deliverer of software-as-a-service products, has introduced the SaaSGrid API for Microsoft, a solution that allows Silverlight applications to be deployed as single-instance SaaS offerings.

In case you haven't heard the term "SaaS" yet, here's an explanaition: Software as a service (SaaS, typically pronounced 'sass') is a model of software deployment over the internet. With SaaS, a provider licenses an application to customers for use as a service on demand, either through a time subscription or a “pay-as-you-go” model. Also known as “software on demand,” the SaaS model allows vendors to develop, host and operate software for customer use. Rather than purchase the hardware and software to run an application, customers need only a computer or a server to download the application and internet access to run the software. The software can be licensed for a single user or for a group of users.

SaaSGrid is an application server for the .NET Framework that provides data isolation so that end users can access the same instance of a Silverlight application without having anyone else access their data. It also manages feature and subscription access.

“SaaSGrid gives Microsoft-based developers, established ISVs ( Independent software vendors) and startups the ability to focus on application functionality, design and other elements, versus the technical and business hurdles associated with mature SaaS delivery,” said Sinclair Schuller, founder and CEO of Apprenda. Before founding Apprenda, Schuller held positions at Eden Communications, Morgan Stanley and the State University of New York.

Applications interact with SaaSGrid's features through its API. The Silverlight applications are otherwise unchanged, according to the company.

The API also permits integrations with external systems. An SDK is installed within Visual Studio.NET