By 2020, most people will access software applications online and access information through the use of cloud services hosted on remote server networks, according to a new Pew Internet & American life survey of 895 technology stakeholders and critics.

A solid majority of technology experts and stakeholders participating in the fourth Future of the Internet survey conducted by Pew Internet and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center agreed that the cloud will dominate, and desktop usage will diminish in the next 10 years.

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Cloud computing creates enough disruptions for small businesses that it seems almost folly when we hear some of the stories we do.

We heard one story about an IT department that said that the company could not afford to have more people accessing the Internet. Yes, the Internet is too expensive for small business. Maybe it’s time to scrap the dial up?

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Amid the lofty aspirations, few have noticed just how powerful and grounded a force software as a service has become. The impact that SaaS will have on IT organizations is profound, and as business technology leaders, we need to ensure that our companies are ready for it.

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Worldwide software as a service (SaaS) revenue is forecast to reach $7.5 billion in 2009, a 17.7 percent increase from 2008 revenue of $6.4 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. The market will show consistent growth through 2013 when worldwide SaaS revenue will total over $14 billion for the enterprise application markets.

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How can any employer reasonably cope with that flood of candidates?

Those corporations, healthcare organizations and government departments using an applicant tracking system find they have a powerful, enterprise-wide job acquisition and talent management solution ideal for businesses in hiring mode – or even those that are fully staffed.

Today’s ATS provides web-based applicant tracking and candidate management systems that empower businesses with easy-to-acquire and easy-to-use tools to reduce costs and streamline business operations. They automate candidate application and resume management – and create an invaluable competitive advantage.

The solution starts at the beginning of the job requisition life cycle. Job requests entered into the system automatically are distributed to Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com and GoogleBase, expanding the reach of the company’s corporate career center and saving thousands of dollars in premium job board costs. Some ATS providers even leverage social media sites for locating applicants.

Once applicants begin responding, that’s where the magic occurs. Employers with an ATS solution in place make quick work of managing inbound resumes and pre-qualifying candidates. Even unsolicited resumes are handled easily and quickly. Every required form or document, from resumes to supporting documentation, is submitted online and stored on the host server. No more paper resumes and faxed applications, thereby simplifying handling, review and storage needs. Once reviewed, the candidate immediately can be entered into the prospect pool, or saved for future consideration.

The solution manages applications by categories, enables cross-department searches, facilitates job requisition approval chains, and allows for feedback on specific candidates from anyone in the organization– even if those submitting feedback aren’t paid users on the system.

What about the list of qualified applicants who weren’t hired? Companies used to delete or toss those applications. No longer. An ATS enables companies to retain documentation of pre-qualified applicants for when job openings arise. Just search – by geography, criteria, skills or other fields – from among the pool of highly skilled candidates who already have been vetted and met company criteria. Having this storehouse of candidates close at hand makes filling openings fast and easy.

An ATS also enables a company to be less reliant upon its human resources staff for such processes as forwarding applicants to appropriate departments or managers for review. The system collects and organizes information in a centralized database accessible not only to a particular HR staffer’s computer, but to anyone with account access.

A well-designed ATS also is highly scalable to meet the needs of a growing organization. Like many software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, the modern ATS is an evolving tool. New features and functionality that help users gain efficiency and streamline the candidate management process are added seamlessly. More recent additions include background check, onboarding and payroll functions. This makes today’s ATS an end-to-end solution for the entire candidate-to-employee life cycle.

Moreover, the best solutions feature a short learning curve. They’re staffed by experienced advisors with a wealth of knowledge about candidate management, and customer service representatives are standard as part of the service.

Simply put, a right-priced ATS application delivers leading-edge solutions and compelling return on investment. Starting at $100 a month, an ATS can be a cost-effective solution at a reasonable expense – regardless of whether your company is hiring today or tomorrow.

The Software as a Service business model is changing the way software is purchased and deployed by enterprise customers, experts told an audience of technology professionals here at the IDC Software as a Service Summit earlier this week.

Subscription software has been available on the Internet for years. What’s new is the willingness of companies to put key data and business functions on the Internet, a change made possible by technologies collectively know as “the cloud” or cloud computing.

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For growing businesses, I know of no better way to purchase software than as a hosted service, paid for on a per-user/per-month basis. While the equation may not work for the smallest companies, and some IT departments avoid it in order to build an ever-larger empire for themselves, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is the up-and-coming thing. And it’s a perfect solution expand or contract in a roller-coaster economy.

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Blogger Vinnie Mirchandani says that while today’s duration for SaaS deals averages 1.5 years, “the secular trend is towards higher renewals…and multiyear deals. SaaS will likely become like outsourcing contracts — 3, 5, 7-year deals.” Sounds good in theory, but will CIOs go for it?

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