Software as a Service- How to build a SaaS product?

Software as a Service- How to build a SaaS product?

Software as a service (SaaS) is one of the prominent business models across the globe. SaaS solutions offered by various companies are helping businesses in streamlining their day-to-day operations. SaaS products can be a suitable solution for various industries, such as Sales and marketing, banking, retail, travel, healthcare, etc. Through SaaS, businesses can access third-party software solutions via a web browser without installing it on their desktop or PC. This makes SaaS applications more adaptable and affordable. These days, many SaaS companies also offer mobile apps for their users to increase productivity.

In the SaaS business model, the service provider manages the app data stored in their data center based on the customer’s prior agreement. There are a lot of opportunities in the SaaS domain that can help entrepreneurs build an empire. If you are interested to learn how to build a SaaS application, You’ve come to the right place. We will help you understand how to build a cloud-based SaaS application, the types of SaaS, its advantages, etc.

What is Software as Service (SaaS)?

SaaS is a cloud-based business model. SaaS mainly works on a subscription base, where the client needs to pay monthly/Annual subscription fees to the vendor company. In SaaS, a customer can access the required data through the browser regardless of the time and location.

In the SaaS model, everything is cloud and there is no need for the clients to have a separate setup altogether. This helps them save money from setting up an expensive hardware infrastructure. Furthermore, SaaS subscribers do not have to worry about the maintenance, compliance, or security of their data. The SaaS service provider will manage everything, safely and securely. Also, the SaaS platform handles updates and additional maintenance that the clients should not even worry about. Based on your business use cases and requirements SaaS software solutions gives you a competitive advantage tailored to your needs.

Few of the most successful SaaS companies

• Microsoft: Tech giant Microsoft provides some of the world’s most popular productivity SaaS applications, including Teams, Excel, Word, etc.

• Adobe: Adobe is a multinational company best known for its creativity tools, but it has also grown into digital marketing. They are also a leading SaaS company

• Slack: Slack is a business chatroom that uses workspaces to categorize discussions. It was founded in 2009 and is one of the key players in the SaaS domain.

• Google: Google is the most powerful and largest SaaS corporation. They offer a wide range of SaaS solutions like Google Workspace, Cloud Platforms, etc. to their customers

• Cisco: Cisco, a global leader in IT, offers a wide range of hardware and software tools, including SaaS portals that assist clients in locating the best IT products and services available

• Zoho: Zoho offers a wide range of SaaS solutions to its global customers. Right from Zoho CRM to Zoho Mail and People, all their products are been used by small, medium to large enterprises.

Advantages of having a SaaS product

SaaS platforms come with a handful of benefits and advantages. It is highly beneficial for both the SaaS product owners as well as the clients. Let’s see what are the main advantages offered by SaaS products

No setup needed

If you use traditional software, you must set it up to run on your system. Also, your system requirements should be capable of running it on your computer. If workloads increase, you’ll need more storage and computing power. SaaS apps use fewer resources than traditional software and require no configuration or setup. Go to the page, log in with your credentials, and you are all set to use the product.

Suitable for all niches

Any industry can benefit by integrating SaaS products into its day-to-day process. SaaS solutions perform various roles- personnel administration, customer relationship management, etc. In the current situation, organizations can identify multiple SaaS solutions in the market that can meet any of their requirements.

Scalability

As a SaaS subscriber, any organization can upgrade/downgrade the subscription model anytime and add more services from one or more SaaS products. Furthermore, the cloud environment, one of the most essential components of SaaS, enables businesses to scale as quickly and profitably as soon as possible. Cloud-based SaaS platforms are capable of scaling on demand to handle a significant number of users.

Cost-effective

Companies can select the SaaS subscription packages that best suit their needs. Most SaaS companies offer competitive pricing structures that are affordable to their customers.

Accessibility

SaaS apps run in the cloud, so you’re not limited to your desktop. Unlike traditional software, SaaS apps can run on multiple devices rather than a single computer. It has no time and location barriers. This helps organizations to collaborate workforces effectively.

Security

Security is always a high priority while developing any application. Since cloud technologies are more decentralized in nature, they provide more data security. As a result, SaaS product consumers can ensure their data security.

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Type of SaaS products

There is a wide array of SaaS products available in the market. Let us see the popular types of SaaS products.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software

CRM is one of the popular SaaS solutions. These solutions enable businesses to communicate effectively with their customers. CRM software helps businesses to manage and analyze customer data to boost customer relationships. Businesses can benefit a lot by making use of software developed by the best Customer Relationship Management Software development companies in Bangalore by increasing client loyalty, increasing revenue, and promoting their products and services.

Some examples of popular CRM SaaS platforms are Mailchimp, Zoho, Freshdesk, Salesforce, etc.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software

ERP-based SaaS products are best suited for large businesses. ERP software helps organizations to monitor business processes. The features include financial management, inventory, and risk management, production, invoicing, marketing, etc.

Oracle NetSuite is one example of ERP software.

Human Resources Management (HRM) software

Human resource is another business sector that uses SaaS. HR software is designed to help companies streamline their daily task. HRM software allows organizations to manage employees’ work schedules, leave structure, Reports, etc. Also, it can monitor employee performance and schedule interviews. HR software also lets you keep all employee data on a single platform. Fast access to this data helps the human resources department improve its work.

People HR and Bullhorn are the most popular HR SaaS apps.

Analytics software

Analytical SaaS software enables companies to analyze input and output data better to optimize overall business operations. For example, eCommerce website owners can use these software solutions to analyze user engagement, retention, traffic, etc.

Google Analytics and Heap are two examples of analytics SaaS applications.

Project management (PM) software

Project management software helps companies to manage multiple projects efficiently. A company can use PM software built by custom project management software development companies in Dubai to schedule tasks, monitor their completion, and communicate with team members.

Trello and Confluence are two examples of SaaS project management software.

Accounting software

In general, every business requires software support to process payments and manage finances. This is where accounting and billing SaaS helps. Such software enables companies to monitor cash flow, execute and receive transactions, and manage financial reporting. Furthermore, such SaaS software will allow the companies to streamline internal processes, such as salary administration, tax payment, profit calculation, etc.

QuickBooks is an example of SaaS accounting software.

Content management systems (CMS)

Another example of a SaaS product is the content management system. These software solutions make editing and contributing content to websites simple and quick. These solutions are ideal for eCommerce businesses.

WordPress, Joomla, and Magento are famous CMS examples.

How to build a SaaS business?

SaaS app development is a booming trend, with many SaaS platforms launching each day. Let’s see how to start a SaaS company in India that can compete with global players.

Market analysis

The success of your product depends on thorough market research. It provides information about your competitors as well as the needs of potential clients. You should identify the real pain in the market and offer the best solution. This way, you can help and support millions of customers across the globe. This research will validate your abilities and guide you away from mistakes that others have made.

Define the MVP

Creating a Minimum Viable Product helps to determine the essential features that will provide value to your clients. An MVP is tested out with pilot customers to get the market feedback and iterate according to that. 

Identifying answers to questions like who is your target audience, what actions users take to solve their problems, and what solutions you may give, etc. is an easy method to define the minimal viable product.

Select the technology stack

It’s essential to choose the most suitable technology stack while developing a SaaS application in Bangalore, Mumbai, etc. Current web development trends show that the following technologies are commonly used in SaaS development:

Find a development team

In this stage, you have to find a robust development team. You can either form a team from within your company or outsource the development partially or entirely. Outsourcing to the best SaaS Platform development company in India will provide numerous benefits and allow you to focus on your business process, such as marketing.

Start the development

Maintain frequent communication with the development company during the development phase to ensure they have the same image of the product’s requirements and features. Use an Agile methodology for continuous development, testing, and quick time-to-value. During this phase, you can also launch an early marketing campaign to establish a community of eager people awaiting the release.

Production and maintenance

The software will be ready for publishing and deployment only after the QA team completes testing and examines the production server. At this phase, the testing team ensures that When you build a SaaS application, you agree to its ongoing maintenance and upgrade. Users who have installed your app on their devices should have smooth access to all software updates and 24/7 technical support.

How long does it take to build a SaaS product?

The development time for a SaaS product purely depends on the type and features of the product. Also, it depends on the capacity and the size of the development team you partner with. However, on average, the development time to build a SaaS product varies between 2 months to a year.

Conclusion

Digital transformation has already taken over all industries and business sectors. Providing a new SaaS business idea for a particular industry and tackling its pain concerns is worth it. A SaaS solution will provide businesses with increased scalability, flexibility, data security, and cost efficiency. Since SaaS is a popular niche, such a solution is highly needed among businesses. If you are an entrepreneur looking for business opportunities, now is an excellent time to come up with your SaaS product. and establish yourself before the market becomes oversaturated.