Pilvtarkvara

Pilvtarkvara is a term used in Estonian to describe cloud software—software delivered, operated, and maintained remotely over the internet rather than installed locally on individual devices. It is accessed through web browsers or application interfaces and is typically hosted by a service provider.

The majority of pilvtarkvara is offered as Software as a Service (SaaS), where users pay a subscription to access applications. Related models include Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Modern pilvtarkvara often relies on multi-tenant architectures, scalable resources, regular automatic updates, and centralized data management.

Deployment can be on public clouds, private clouds, or hybrid configurations. Data residency, privacy, and compliance requirements affect choices. Integration is enabled through APIs and connectors with other cloud services or on-premises systems, and identity and access management is essential for security.

Benefits include lower upfront costs, predictable operating expenses, rapid deployment, automatic maintenance, and easier collaboration and mobility. Challenges include data security and privacy, control over data, potential vendor lock-in, latency, uptime dependence on the provider, and issues around data portability and regulatory compliance.

Use cases span productivity tools, customer relationship management, human resources, enterprise resource planning, analytics, and industry-specific software. Pilvtarkvara is part of broader digital transformation strategies, enabling organizations to scale resources with demand and access services from multiple locations and devices.