A paradigm shift has occurred in the way that small businesses use software applications. Companies increasingly choose hosted solutions with a monthly subscription fee and outsourced system…

Question

Exhibit

Options

• AScalability.
• BGrid computing.
• CCrowd sourcing.
• DSoftware as a Service.

• A
  3% (1)
• B
  3% (1)
• C
  9% (3)
• D
  86% (30)

Explanation

Software as a Service (SaaS) perfectly describes the model where software is hosted remotely, accessed via subscription, and maintained by the vendor rather than the customer - exactly what the question describes with "hosted solutions," "monthly subscription fees," and "outsourced maintenance."

The distractors fail for distinct reasons: Scalability (A) is a system property (the ability to grow capacity), not a business/delivery model; Grid computing (B) refers to distributed processing across networked machines, a technical architecture unrelated to subscription software; Crowdsourcing (C) means leveraging a large group of people to complete tasks or generate content, not software delivery.

Memory tip: Think of SaaS as "renting software like Netflix" - you pay monthly, they handle the servers, and you just log in. The "as a Service" suffix always signals a hosted, subscription-based delivery model (also seen in IaaS and PaaS).

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