Cloud application services or "Software as a Service (SaaS)" deliver software as a service over the Internet, eliminating the need to install and run the application on the customer's own computers and simplifying maintenance and support.

A cloud application is software provided as a service (SaaS). It consists of the following: a package of interrelated tasks, the definition of these tasks, and the configuration files, which contain dynamic information about tasks at run-time. Cloud tasks provide compute, storage, communication and management capabilities. Tasks can be cloned into multiple virtual machines, and are accessible through application programmable interfaces (API). Cloud applications are a kind of utility computing that can scale out and in to match the workload demand.

Cloud applications have a pricing model that is based on different compute and storage usage, and tenancy metrics. What makes a cloud application different from other applications is its elasticity. Cloud applications have the ability to scale out and in. This can be achieved by cloning tasks in to multiple virtual machines at run-time to meet the changing work demand. Configuration Data is where dynamic aspects of cloud application are determined at run-time. There is no need to stop the running application or redeploy it in order to modify or change the information in this file.

At SENATH we have developed a portal (www.onesme.com) to help small to medium businesses to trail, and choose Cloud applications that are suitable for their businesses. Using tools such as DURGA we are making deployment and management of Cloud applications easier for SME/SMBs.