Software delivery models have undergone tremendous change over the past decade. Before, software products were delivered only in one model, on-premise hosted on a client server. However, as technology innovation underwent a major transformation, new software models began to evolve.

During the 1960s and 1970s, companies used to get their software built directly. In the 1980s and 1990s, the licensing model evolved. One major drawback for these two models, however, was the fact that any changes meant the old system had to be completely removed and the new system had to be installed and configured.