Web host Hostway has conducted a survey that suggests that the growth in virtualization has increased adoption of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, with “three-quarters of organizations” believing that “server virtualization will drive adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)” in the future, it was reported.

Hostway’s survey suggests that over 60% of respondents “plan to adopt SaaS in some form over the next five years” and that “45% believe that the technology had not taken off until recently because of the lack of available virtualization technologies”. The survey went on to suggest SaaS providers found it difficult to offer reliable software on demand services before virtualization.

"Without virtualization the business model for SaaS would not be viable," explained Neil Barton, Director of Hostway. "The business model for SaaS means you need to get a high level of utilization from the servers that the applications in the cloud sit on. Virtualization enables this. The message to application vendors is that you need to either SaaS-enable your applications yourself, or partner with people who can allow your applications to be offered as a service."

Hostway Corporation was founded in 1998 and bills itself as “one of the three largest web hosting companies in the world with a direct presence in 11 countries, 15 worldwide operation centers, and more than 700 employees”. The company caters to a global customer base with a range of services including Windows and Linux based shared hosting plans.