Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design

ESaaS: A New Software Paradigm for Supporting

Higher Education in Cloud Environment
Md. Anwar Hossain Masud Xiaodi Huang
School of Computing and Mathematics School of Computing and Mathematics
Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University
Albury, NSW 2640, Australia Albury, NSW 2640, Australia
manwarhossain@csu.edu.au xhuang@csu.edu.au

Abstract-- As a new paradigm, Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is faculties at schools, colleges and universities. This paper
becoming increasingly important in information technology explains how Education software-as-a-service (ESaaS)[3] can
industry because it provides a cost-effective alternative over provide affordable and high end educational services which
traditional packaged applications. Apart from an application leads to the transformation from traditional education to cloud
delivery model, SaaS is also a business model that encompasses a
broad spectrum of business, marketing, and technical
service. From a user’s point of view, a cloud can provide
opportunities, as well as issues and challenges. Introducing the services available in such a way that the user does not have to
concept of ESaaS that is defined as Education Software-as-a- be concerned with where the services originate or even where
Service, this paper compares it with traditional software, and the services are running. ESaaS delivers a virtualization
discusses how such software can support education systems as a education environment as a service. Rather than purchasing
tool for enhancing information, teaching and learning in cloud software, software licenses, education providers buy those
environment. This paper then focuses on the development model resources as a fully outsourced service on demand and
of ESaaS, providing systematic steps on how to develop ESaaS. minimize cost by pay per usage. Generally ESaaS can be
obtained as public or private cloud or a combination of the two.
Keywords—Cloud computing, E-learning, Architecture, SaaS Public clouds may offer low-cost services, but in return they
may not provide needed assurances of security for those
I. INTRODUCTION services. Private clouds, sometimes also referred to as
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is a software distribution community clouds, seek secure collaboration with external
model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service providers. The location of ESaaS in cloud environment is
provider and made available to customers over the Internet in a shown in “Fig. 1” below.
form of the "Cloud." These applications are licensed to
customers for use in the "Cloud" as a service on demand, and
customers pay only for what they use and it eliminates the need
to install and run the application on the customer’s own
hardware. SaaS is most often subscription-based [1] and all
ongoing support, maintenance, and upgrades are provided by
the software vendor as part of the service. Application
customization capabilities, if available at all, are generally
provided to all customers in a consistent manner. SaaS
solutions have recently been gaining in popularity. There has
been much interest in the notion of SaaS as a new model for
delivering software to end users. With the advancement of
tools for web application development there has been a shift in
the way that software is acquired. In recent years there has
been a large increase in Internet usage worldwide [2]. It is
apparent that the Middle East and Africa are at the top of the
growth trend. The Internet has become accessible to more
people in the world in the past decade. This trend has led to
many changes in the maturity of web application technologies.
This research examines SaaS in relation to E-Learning
Systems.
The software and platform in education can be on-premises,
off-premises, or a combination of both, depending on the
educational institution’s needs. SaaS can be used to deliver
advanced software resources to students, researchers, and Fig. 1. ESaaS in cloud environment for interactive education systems

978-1-4673-6083-8/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE 196

 As a summary, the contribution of this paper is as follows:
• Propose an ESaaS model that incorporates key
elements of SaaS features for higher education
systems.
• Design a platform-independent configuration model
to support learning systems.
• Present a system prototype that supports
collaborative teaching and learning.
This paper considers the impact that SaaS is likely to
have on the demand for IT professionals and the
consequences for education providers who are preparing
future IT professionals [4]. Before it does this, however it
explains what SaaS is, and why it is likely to become an
important force in the IT industry. Section 2 presents
related work. Section 3 describes the relation of SaaS with
E-learning. Section 4 discusses the ESaaS model, Section 5
presents ESaaS configuration steps, section 6 focuses on
the expected benefits and section 7 concludes the paper and
discusses the future work.
II. RELATED WORK
Like any other type of software, SaaS should be customized
to meet the preferences of various customers. However, SaaS
providers cannot afford to develop and maintain a version of
application for each individual customer. Thus, configurability
is a major characteristic of SaaS to resolve preferred problems.
SaaS can satisfy many different needs for customization
without creating multiple branches, while giving benefits in the
aspect of maintenance. Although fully configurable SaaS is
ideal for developers and SaaS tenants, it is practically
impossible to make SaaS fully configurable due to
development costs and limited time-to-market. Nevertheless
customization causes source code changes which requires more
resources, increases development expenses, and prolongs the
life cycle. So it is required to consider the configurability of
SaaS in the early developmental stages. If the various
configuration requirements can be classified and propagation
among the requirements can be recognized, then SaaS can be
developed and maintained easily.
A study is presented about patterns for implementing
configuration requirements of SaaS in [5]. The study shows the
possibility of a pattern-based solution for configuration without
source code modifications. However, the study just gives
different kinds of patterns informally and does not present
organized patterns. Configuration of SaaS is shown from
another perspective [6]. The study suggests five levels of
configurable SaaS, from the introduction stage to the world-
class stage. Furthermore, the study proposes four levels of
models for approaching configurable SaaS, from the
spontaneous design model to the management failure model.
The study is useful to build a knowledge base of SaaS
configuration. Several companies have introduced white papers
for configurable SaaS [7]. These papers suggest models for
SaaS customization and personalization. They classify the
components of SaaS into different categories such as look &
feel, internationalization & localization, display, and so on.
They focus more on the practical aspect of configuration, rather
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than researching the fundamental one. The possibility is shown
about making a system configurable by using accustomed
architecture [8]. Although the study is a little old-fashioned,
several points such as the separation of control and
implementation interfaces and modular design are crucial to
understand the development of configurable software.
Recent research works as [9][10] propose solution for
Cloud Computing and e-learning. No one uses SaaS and Cloud
paradigms that are the genuine architecture aims of Web
services. Most of the work that has been conducted to explore
this field focuses either on establishing the basis for cloud
computing or almost exclusively on the issues surrounding
security and data privacy, with very few final answers
available. In this paper, we attempt to present the current trends
in the space of cloud computing and presenting how software
as a service can be used to enhance interactive teaching and
learning.
III. EMERGENCE OF SAAS AND ITS ROLE FOR HIGHER
EDUCATION
A new paradigm for higher education enterprise software is
upon us. New technologies have presented the opportunity to
create data systems that offer an open architecture delivered in
SaaS model, enabling educational institutes to embrace
complete student lifecycle management through tightly
integrated, best of breed solutions. This flexible approach [11]
empowers colleges and universities to select the systems and
applications necessary to meet the specific needs of their ever-
changing student populations, as well as drive maximum return
on investment and secure a competitive advantage.
Traditional, monolithic application suites were developed
in response to the inability to integrate applications in the early
days of the enterprise software industry. In order to create a full
breadth of capability, a vendor had no choice but to write every
application module themselves or to advance their product line
through acquisition, often resulting in problems with
integration, usability or no integration at all. The application
suite vendors in higher education have attempted to address the
needs of colleges and universities from varying perspectives
specially to increase teacher’s capability [12] for hosting
interactive learning. Some providers started from a basic
Student Information System, and then expanded their product
line into general purpose business applications as part of a
strategy to become a single vendor for all of a university’s
needs. Modern enterprise application architectures are moving
away from the legacy approach of the monolithic suite. Higher
education has reached a tipping point in enterprise applications,
a point which creates massive new opportunities for colleges
and universities to transform their enterprise architectures and
achieve greater benefits.
The hosting of traditional software applications simply
changes who manages the IT behind the delivery of the
application as if “Fig 2”. Hosting providers typically support
ore hardware and software versions and are not able to quickly
increase capacity as user demand grows. Hosting does not
address the fundamental limitations of traditional enterprise
applications or the old economic and high-cost model that is
inherent.
 authoring tools according to standards. The learner can use
genuine versions of software.
We briefly discuss the three generic process models that
can be used in the development of ESaaS.

“Services Building “Attached “Finished

Software as a
Service
Blocks” Services” Services” TABLE I. ESAAS VS TRADITIONAL EDUCATION SOFTWARE

Traditional ESaaS
Software Delivery

Provider delivers service that Education

Provider delivers development
augments existing on-premise
Provider delivers software Software
IT function
& hosting infrastructure. application service end-to-end Platform Multi version Single Platform
Customer delivers the
application. Pricing Maintenance + Subscription (all
License inclusive)
Delivery Installed Hosted

Traditional software moves to Development Longer Cycle Continuous

Cycle
Software
software + service Allocation Capitalised Expensed
Additional Cost Installation, Configuration
Customer Co-Managed Provider Maintenance,
Managed Managed Customization &
Upgrades
Application Management Profits Initial Sale Ongoing
Sales Focus Close the deal Prove Value
Feedback Cycle Long Short
Success New License Lack of Churn
revenue
Fig. 2. Shifting of traditional software to SaaS Updates Longer, less Shorter,
frequent Frequent
SaaS application [13] is delivered to the educational
institutes as a service, securely over the Internet, the A. Waterfall model
educational institutes are automatically kept on the latest
version of the application, reducing costly and disruptive This takes the activities involved in a software design
upgrade projects, don’t incur the expense and hassle of process into distinct phases such as requirement, specification,
purchasing, installing and storing their own hardware and software design, implementation, testing and so on. After each
software, plus they can better leverage staff expertise by stage is defined, development goes on to the next stages. The
moving the focus away from software maintenance and upkeep main drawback of the waterfall model is the difficulty of
to instead focusing on strategic decisions to improve the accommodating change after the process is underway. One
overall student experience. A SaaS environment means that phase has to be completed before moving onto the next phase.
colleges and universities can benefit from a reliable,
dependable, low maintenance SaaS model, plus they can B. Evolutionary or iterative model
customize and add on to both simplify and centralize This approach interleaves the activities of specification,
information management in a way that meets their individual development and validation. An initial system is rapidly
needs. developed from very abstract specifications. This is then
In this section, we compare the proposed ESaaS with refined with customers’ input to produce a system that satisfies
the customers’ need. The system may then be delivered.
tradition Education software, as shown in the following Table
Alternatively, it may be re-implemented using a more
1.
structured approach to produce a more robust and maintainable
IV. A MODEL OF ESAAS system.
We aim to design and implement a software model to help C. Component-based model
education systems leverage predictive analytics to get real-time
insights on student and institutional performance, enhance This technique assumes that parts of the system already
researcher effectiveness, and alleviate constraints of software exist. The system development process focuses on integrating
resources for learning. This software model is intended to take these parts rather than development from the scratch.
decision and can complicate lesson according to learner’s
skills. Actors as learner and teacher can work anywhere and
use different media. Services are available according to SaaS
model and managed by providers according to Cloud
Computing principles. Contents are defined by the teacher with

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Fig. 3. Software design model used for ESaaS

In this study, we adopt an evolutionary model which is

based on the idea of developing an initial implementation,
exposing this to student and teachers ‘comments and refining it
through many versions until an adequate system has been
developed. The objective is to work with students and teachers
and evolve a final system from an initial outline specification. Fig. 4. Connectivity scenario of ESaaS for a large system
We therefore opt to start with well-understood requirements
and add new features as proposed by the users. This is with a Applications of ESaaS will be based on the four pillars into
view to producing a more complete version of software with one integrated solution with features that eliminates
each iteration as illustrated in “Fig 3”. overlapping functionality, enhance data consistency by having
one source of data, and also provides a cost effective solution
V. ESAAS CONFIGURATION STEPS by eliminating the separate solutions from different vendors as
One of the challenges of developing software systems for in “Fig.5”. The ability to access the system using a single-sign-
learning is that software engineers do not yet have efficient on enables the end-user to access the system, and manage all
ways of including the past experiences of the technologies into functionalities according to responsibility and authority.
their design. What we are proposing are a few simple thoughts
which, if systematically used by software engineers, will go
some way to providing input directly from teachers and
students, into design processes. Functional requirements of the
model should be identified in order to know the services that
can be provided and the operational constraints that reflect the
needs of users to solve specific problems. Collaboration allows
collaborative learning, extended to sharing of intra-
organizational educational and learning resources. The users'
motivational effects create a learner-system interactivity to
establish a new kind of relation between the users and ESaaS,
which reflects positively in the relation between the users and
their organizations.

A. Determine which applications we want to deliver via

SaaS.
These applications could be current e-learning applications
that we no longer wish to maintain in-house, new applications
that will replace or augment existing e-learning systems, or
new applications being implemented for the first time in some
educational institute. The connectivity scenario is depicted in
“Fig. 4”.

Fig. 5. Conceptual system with integrated functionality

199
Fig. 6. Evolutionary ESaaS model
B. Assess organization’s internal IT capabilities.
What in-house resources and skills will e-learning
initiative have access to what internal systems might the SaaS
application need to interface or integrate with. (databases,
legacy systems etc)
C. Evaluate SaaS vendors
• To determine what qualities of the application and/or
the SaaS are important .
• Issues to investigate include reliability, availability,
security, management and customer service [14]
• To develop specific criteria outlined in a request for
proposal (RFP) or request for information (RFI) that
can be sent to SaaS e-learning providers.
• To choose SaaS solution based on who has the
strongest offering for what is actually needed as
shown in “Fig. 6”
VI. EXPECTED BENEFIT OF THE PROPOSED ESAAS
The introduction of ESaaS provided an analogous situation.
ESaaS becomes more powerful through open integration
architecture with either pre-built connections with leading
business and learning applications [15] or institutional custom
applications that directly integrate to the data and business
processes. SaaS environment means that colleges and
200
universities can benefit from a reliable, dependable, low
maintenance SaaS model, plus they can customize and add on
to both simplify and centralize information management in a
way that meets their individual needs. The following benefits
are expected to be derived from the proposed ESaaS model.
• Software is easy to use: Having grown up with intuitive
cloud software, users expect cloud programs to be simple.
Most vendors, therefore, ensure their software can be used
with very little training. This means customers don’t have to
spend time learning new software tricks (or teaching them to
their students) and can concentrate on using the software
pedagogically instead.
• Fast to get started: Institution wide applications can be
set-up in just a couple of days. For accessing such
applications, customer need to sign up to get an account and
can work with it in a matter of minutes.
• Better student collaboration: Many cloud programs
facilitate file sharing and multiple authors. This means that
students can easily exchange files with each other and invite
their peers to work on the same document [16].
• Extending the curriculum to anywhere and anytime:
Academic files and software are hosted on the internet, which
means they are always available at any time of day or night.
This gives students far more choice as to when and how they
study – and teachers can work as efficiently at home as they
can at their institution.
 • Minimal investment for the resources: There’s no
hardware to buy and educational institutions don’t have to
install software on local computers. As a result, an educational
institution can vastly reduce the time and money it spends
[17].
• Scalability: Adding more users is fast and simple.
• Lower maintenance costs: As the software is
maintained by the supplier, the customer have to do very little
to keep it running smoothly. And because the supplier takes
care of any updates, customer knows they are always working
with the latest version. This keeps maintenance costs down
and eliminates the frustration of incompatible and outdated
software, thereby efficient management system can be
obtained [18].
• Cheaper Data storage costs: Data storage is expensive.
Cloud computing lets educational institutions avoid that cost
as the supplier hosts the data on their servers.
• Security and Reliability: Educational systems seek
solutions that provide security for files, software applications
[19] uploaded and managed through the cloud.
• Collaboration Tools: ESaaS also enables collaboration
between users to enhance and extend the learning process
[20]. Students exercise and develop collaboration techniques
within the safety and security of an online communication
system integrated into the desktop.
VII. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK
This paper has discussed how SaaS can help support
students. A new model of ESasS has been presented, together
with the ESaaS Configuration steps. There are still some issues
relating to ESaaS to be addressed in the future. It would be
hoped that SaaS tools will be made available in educational
content management systems and some of these SaaS tools are
already being made available for the mobile phones. ESaaS is
likely to be the new brand of cloud computing services in
education. By deploying the services the educational
institutions can significantly curtail expense of software
licensing and reduce the campus IT staff. The educational
Institutions without the required educational software can
utilize it from ESaaS which will not only lead to best
utilization of resources, but also to huge amount of financial
and human resources savings. ESaaS based education systems
will be fully distributed, and each component may be
supported by one server independently. One of the most
important advantages of ESaaS is that students will have access
to all software anytime, anywhere and any technological
devices connected to Internet. Considering the mammoth
education sector, an integrated approach like ESaaS is the need
of the hour to handle the situation.
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