From source code to Software as a Service, how to make software more accessible?

In the development of software - for products, projects and platforms - different approaches are pursued. For the life cycle of the software, it is important to determine the appropriate approach as early as possible in order to set the framework conditions for software development and engineering projects. Increasingly, scientific software applications are developing into services that are embedded in and used via community platforms. The goal in developing and operating a software platform is to create a sustainable and scalable set of services for a defined target group. Added value compared to local software solutions arises, among other things, from the fact that data storage, computing capacities and communication options are offered in addition to core functions such as modeling, data analysis, project management or software development. The need for continuous operation and development as well as flexible scalability requires special software development methods such as DevOps and CI/CD. The sustainability approach also requires the embedding into scientific communities as well as continuous funding or a viable business model. Specifics and experiences of this approach will be discussed on the basis of applications from the Helmholtz platform hifis.net