All of the following are characteristics of software-as-a-service (SaaS) except: Question 7 options: Usually there is no hardware and software to buy since the apps are used over the Internet and paid for through a fixed subscription fee, or payable per an actual usage fee. Other terms for SaaS are on-demand computing, utility computing, and hosted services. The SaaS model was developed to overcome the challenge to an enterprise of being able to meet fluctuating demands on IT resources efficiently. SaaS is an increasingly popular IT model for large but not small companies in which software is available to users as needed.