SaaS, for good and bad.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is being adopted for a wider
range of uses, and not all of them are for the good. On the plus side, OpSource,
a SaaS hosting company, late last week announced OpSource Connect, a new
feature that will allow companies to consume and publish multiple Web services
across their SaaS applications and connect those services with legacy apps.

SaaS applications, including those of Salesforce.com and
NetSuite, can be integrated with legacy enterprise applications behind the
corporate firewall to protect data integrity. These legacy connections are
enabled via a service called OpSource Sockets.

On the unfortunate side, security vendor Finjan has
discovered a SaaS-like toolkit that is stealing account information for FTP
sites, including some of the top 100 domains as rated by Alexa.com.

The crimeware, which originated in Russia,
allowed multiple users to attack a target, trying to find the credentials that
would allow for access to the server’s file system. The ill-gotten account
information would then be validated and sold to other cybercriminals, all
through an automated service.

The standard-bearer for SaaS, Salesforce.com, reported its
year-end numbers last week. The company posted net income for the year of $18.3
million, or 16 cents per share, on revenues of $556.8 million, a 45 percent
improvement over the $381.8 million in fiscal year 2007. Net income in fiscal
2008 was $481,000.

Salesforce.com is taking the show on the road. Dreamforce
Europe, the first international customer show, will take place in London
on May 7 and 8, with an interesting mix of speakers that includes Wikipedia
founder Jimmy Wales and musician Peter Gabriel.