Some industry observers and independent software vendors (ISVs) suggest that Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is just another way of delivering software. They use this argument to discount the significance of the SaaS movement and suggest that delivering software as a service will become commonplace in a few years.

What these observers and vendors overlook is the structural impact this trend will bring to more than just the software industry. As a consequence, traditional companies will be forced to redefine how they look at software and services. In fact, as I suggested in a previous blog we are already seeing a breakdown in the line of demarcation between the software and business services industries.

The first indication of this phenomena came in August when ADP acquired software services company Employease. This deal brought together ADP’s well-known payroll services with Employease’s less-known, but rapidly growing, on-demand human resource management software services. ADP followed that acquisition with another SaaS vendor purchase in October of VirtualEdge Corporation, a provider of recruiting and talent lifecycle management solutions for HR organizations.

Following ADP’s example, Intuit Inc. acquired Digital Insight Corporation, a leading provider of online banking services, on November 30. The acquisition enables Intuit to move beyond simply supplying financial management software to delivering online banking services to millions of small businesses and consumers. As a result of the acquisition, Intuit will now be able to serve over 5,000 financial institutions, almost 25 million consumers and 7 million small businesses.

The acquisition reshapes the banking industry by recasting one of the most popular software vendors into a potent new, online banking solutions provider. It also clearly proves that SaaS is more than just another way to deliver software. It is a powerful mechanism that can fundamentally change the dynamics of whole industries.