For those of you who don't know what SaaS is, it stands for Software as a Service. I recommend reading the Wikipedia article for a full explanation, but in a nutshell it means that the processing and storage of a program happens on the software vendor’s end instead of the end user’s. This can eliminate the need for high-end workstations, IT departments, even servers. Working on a central file between offices would also no longer be an issue. The concept puts more control in the vendor’s hands which some may see as a flaw…. but with yearly releases and no backwards compatibility, how much control do we really have anyway? I see this as a way to overcome many Revit shortcomings. AutoDesk can more easily observe how users really work, see how ridiculously slow large Revit models get, see what causes problems & crashes, and seamlessly release patches & updates. AutoDesk could keep it’s greedy corporate agreement with Microsoft by running their OS on their end, yet allow users with Linux and Mac OS to tie into the system. This is not a new idea… a book entitled ‘Construction Collaboration Technologies: The Extranet Evolution’ was published three years ago. I think it’s up to us as the consumers to start demanding better service from AutoDesk… and services such as this would be a really good start.