Sites is a SaaS (software as a service) offering from the big G. SaaS, often referred to as "on-demand software" is where software is hosted centrally, usually in the cloud.
To be an entirely web based website building platform, Google Sites his a homerun. It allows anyone with a google account to create a website in a matter of minutes. Many functions like keeping a consistent navigation that plagued early HTML sites and still present problems to basic designers are all taken care of automatically by Sites. I would recommend it to someone that does not have the time or budget to learn to use a program like Dreamweaver but still wants the WYSIWYG feel. It also has a plugin type feature called Gadgets that allows you to easily add an assortment of functions to the site like importing an rss feed or displaying a google calendar.
A disadvantage of using google site is that you have to have an internet connection in order to work on the site. Another let down is that many of the settings take multiple steps to get to. There is no overarching structure that allows you to access all elements of google sites.
SaaS systems like google sites are related to SOA (service-oriented architecture) because it part of a larger integration system. Google provides a loose coupling of services including Gmail, Docs, Sites, Blogger, Calendar etc. Each system is distinct in its operation but they are all able to communicated with each other. Sharing the same authentication system and able to pass information between each other. For example, google sites can pull information from each of the other google services and gmail can automatically add appointments to your calendar based on information in an email.
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