What’s Software as a Service (SaaS)?

To achieve the fashionable era of business, legacy corporations need to contemplate progressive technologies like SaaS. You will have heard the term before, but what’s SaaS exactly? SaaS, meaning Software-as-a-Service, allows enterprises to deliver software products to their customers via the Web. This method removes the necessity for complex software management, making delivery of those platforms more inexpensive and streamlined.

On top of their advantages to your operations and bottom line, SaaS applications are also an integral a part of how modern corporations do business. Society is leveraging distant work and cloud technology now greater than ever. Legacy software applications that don’t offer multiple access point cloud data storage (in addition to the opposite agile features SaaS provides) could find yourself throwing in the towel. 

As you proceed to navigate the web business landscape, keep this text nearby as your in-depth guide to the world of SaaS. We’ll cover the essential SaaS concepts like where it began, how we came, the core components of SaaS applications, benefits and downsides, and far more. You’ll finish this text with your whole questions answered and a transparent vision of how you’ll be able to leverage SaaS to bring the perfect out of your online business.

SaaS has develop into the first approach to software delivery for contemporary corporations. Due to its ease of use for the shopper and ease of setup/maintenance for the provider, yow will discover the SaaS model in nearly every digital business platform you see. 

Currently, there are roughly 25,000 worldwide SaaS providers. Compare this number with almost 15,000 in 2020, and it’s easy to see that Software-as-a-Service is the popular model of the fashionable software era.

With explosive growth like this in recent times, it’s easy to think that SaaS has just burst onto the scene. Nonetheless, that couldn’t be farther from the reality. Let’s have a look at the journey of SaaS – from its humble beginnings through its evolution into the software juggernaut it’s today.

Whenever you begin crawling the main serps for “what’s Software-as-a-Service,” the consensus is that the term began to pop up on the IT scene within the Nineteen Nineties. For those who dig a little bit deeper, though, you’ll see SaaS had its true starting 30 to 40 years earlier. During that point, Software-as-a-Service didn’t have the buzzworthy acronym it has today. Back then, it was known as a time-sharing system. 

Time-sharing was developed through the Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties when using computers was unbelievably expensive. This method was a necessity since corporations needed to share using processor time simply to give you the option to afford it. Over the following 20 to 30 years, nevertheless, computer hardware and software would develop into far more inexpensive.

From the Nineteen Seventies to the Nineteen Nineties, computer processor time became more accessible, but time-sharing remained the first model. Eventually, processor time, computer hardware, and computer software became so accessible that business owners were presented with a brand new problem. They needed to determine ways to distribute software applications across large, multi-computer networks. It’s at this point that we start to see what Software-as-a-Service is as we comprehend it today.

In today’s online business marketplace, corporations like Salesforce, Asana, and Monday.com are synonymous with SaaS services. While these corporations are great examples of what levering SaaS software delivery can do for your online business, they’re not solely chargeable for shaping what SaaS software is. 

From the Nineteen Nineties, we fast-forward to the turn of the 21^st century. At the moment, a travel and expense software referred to as Concur established the inspiration for the fashionable SaaS model.

After the 2001 market crash, Concur shifted from running as a brick-and-mortar legacy business to a 100% SaaS architecture. A combination of timing getting ready to the “.com” boom and a quest for higher profit margins caused the corporate to get your hands on one other approach to delivery for his or her travel and expense software. Once they realized selling individual copies of Concur on floppy disks and CD-ROMs didn’t work any longer, they began to sell on to businesses. Eventually, they launched a version of their software that only required an online browser to run. That’s when their business began to take off.

The executives at Concur were unaware of just what an excellent idea they’d on their hands. After switching to Software-as-a-Service, the corporate grew so fast that German software giant, SAP, bought out Concur in 2014 for $8.3 billion. The value tag on this acquisition continues to be the very best SaaS-based business purchase to at the present time.

Today, you’ll be able to’t conduct business within the marketplace without hearing about SaaS applications. Corporations of any size, from small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to enterprise organizations, can all profit from switching their software delivery method. The industry is predicted to see its largest growth rate in history over the following 12 months, reaching a staggering global revenue of $176.62 billion, in accordance with Statista.

That growth rate doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. Smart business owners must bring their heads along with their teams on methods to switch to a SaaS delivery framework ASAP. 

So, what components of the software framework define what SaaS is? How will you tell if a selected application is a Software-as-a-Service offering? We’ll break the core components down intimately so that you and your team can higher determine what’s vital to easily transition your current offering to a SaaS infrastructure.

One in all the hallmark characteristics of a successful SaaS framework is a multi-tenant architecture. Businesses began to leverage SaaS applications for this exact reason. Corporations needed to seek out a technique to distribute their software to multiple end-user terminals quickly and efficiently. 

Multi-tenancy allows corporations to distribute one instance of a selected software application or business tool. Subsequently, their customers can then disperse that software across multiple computers or tenants. 

The advantage of multi-tenancy is that it allows for optimal scalability. When businesses go for a cloud-based framework over a physical data center, leveraging SaaS applications allows them to implement tools like AI, data analytics, and machine learning – essentially launching their business into hypergrowth at the press of a button.

Business owners love Software-as-a-Service for its cost-efficiency. Delivering SaaS across its natural multi-tenant environment makes application installation, upkeep, and maintenance very budget-friendly for software providers. 

On the opposite end of the connection, users love SaaS for its customization. Most SaaS software providers offer their applications in a tiered multi-package format.

For instance, customers can select 4 pricing options once they visit Salesforce.com. Salesforce offers packages starting from the Essentials, which costs $25 per 30 days per user, all the best way as much as the Unlimited – priced at $300 per 30 days per user. Customers can benefit from more Salesforce features and functionality as they upgrade and roll into higher packages.

Corporations like Salesforce that provide this tiered pricing have an authority sales staff who can seek the advice of customers on the right package for his or her business needs. It also eliminates “buyer’s remorse,” as your customers will give you the option to upgrade or downgrade with a couple of clicks of a button.

Access points are one other advantage of offering your software on a SaaS basis. Software-as-a-Service providers normally construct a certain variety of access points into their packages. The bottom package they provide may accommodate 5-10 users, while probably the most premium package may allow for 100 access points or more.

This flexibility regarding licenses and access points makes a SaaS model the right option to your software business. Users may be confident they’re getting exactly what they need once they need it. You’ll also extend the lifetime value of a customer for your online business. Customers can start small and grow with you by upgrading packages as their business begins to scale.

Because SaaS applications are less expensive to operate for businesses and their customers, business owners can invest more money and time into the user experience. UX/UI (user experience/user interface) design is quickly becoming some of the vital features of all web sites and software applications – including SaaS platforms. 

With more of their budget available to speculate in UX/UI design, corporations can work with their visual design team to craft apps that make users “feel at home” via a well-recognized or streamlined interface. Many corporations model their user interface after other popular apps within the industry or across the broader digital landscape.

The result? Your users will give you the option to leap right in and begin using your app straight away. They’ll give you the option to benefit from all of the functions or features with virtually zero learning curve, leading to completely satisfied customers time and time again.

The core components of SaaS offerings mentioned above are only the tip of the iceberg. Switching your legacy software offerings over to a SaaS framework has more advantages than we are able to discuss within the scope of this text. Nevertheless, listed below are a couple of unique advantages transitioning to SaaS can have for you and your team:

Due to its natural multi-tenant environment, SaaS can reduce costs for each the software provider and the shopper. Since operating and maintaining SaaS applications costs less, you’ll be able to pass those savings to your customers.

Moreover, transitioning to a Software-as-a-Service structure makes it much easier to scale your customer base. The tiered, “only pay for what you would like” pricing structure typical of SaaS offerings may make your platform accessible to SMBs who otherwise wouldn’t give you the option to afford your services.

Previously, we discussed how SaaS applications are designed with an accessible user interface. Customers should purchase their subscription and begin using the software’s features immediately for the reason that platform already feels familiar. Most SaaS applications take this ease of use a step further.

Through the onboarding process, customers normally undergo a tutorial, walkthrough video, or “tour” of the software. That is the provider’s way of showing customers methods to best use specific functions and features, making the software accessible for brand spanking new customers. SaaS providers will even provide ready-made templates which permit users to rise up and running with just a couple of clicks of a button.

With the normal, single-tenant software model, a customer had to purchase a brand new license to your software each time they wanted to put in it. Additionally they needed to make sure that each computer was properly configured for installation and updates. 

Since SaaS platforms run on the cloud, all of the software providers would wish to do is provision their cloud server to run one other instance of the software. In as little as a couple of hours, your customers’ recent software may be up and running, ready to be used.

These are only a couple of benefits of hosting your software on a managed private cloud. Your customers won’t should waste time with installation and configuration, either side will see lower costs, and you’ll be able to immediately and positively impact your customers’ businesses.

While the SaaS framework has solved lots of the challenges of legacy software applications, it’s not without its shortcomings. Since cloud technology is an integral a part of what SaaS is, leveraging the Software-as-a-Service framework will not be without its challenges. 

That is the foremost concern with adopting the Software-as-a-Service structure. SaaS applications wouldn’t give you the option to supply the advantages they supply without leveraging cloud technology. While this has been a significant breakthrough, it also ends in more exposure and vulnerabilities to hackers.

Your customers might be integrating along with your software via the cloud, which implies data must be transmitted forwards and backwards out of your servers to theirs. Strict security measures and access management protocols have to be taken on either side before you, as a third-party vendor, can safely enter their system. It’s sensible for each you and your customer to have a conversation about either side being as cautious as possible. Providing some security education through the onboarding process is all the time a very good idea.

Introducing cloud technology into the equation can sometimes make data ownership a gray area. As a responsible SaaS provider, you’ll have to be chargeable for your organization’s own data. This implies keeping it shielded from potential digital threats in addition to ensuring your data storage and management SOPs (standard operating procedures) meet regulatory compliance standards at any time when vital. 

Installing a single-tenant software application in your computer is easy. The software app runs on the operating system and resources available in your machine. There’s no “middleman” when executing software functions, so that you’ll experience the utmost speed possible.

Since SaaS applications exist on the provider’s cloud server, end users may experience some “lag” or latency when executing program tasks. More often than not, this delay is negligible and shouldn’t be a problem to your clients. Nonetheless, in the event you serve clients in an industry with sensitive data and urgent tasks, you might need to explore solutions to this challenge.

In the fashionable marketplace, SaaS platforms are available all styles and sizes. Industries from all sectors of the economy leverage cloud applications to collaborate, communicate and scale their customer bases like never before. Listed here are just a couple of of the notable Software-as-a-Service success stories:

Salesforce has develop into the quintessential example of success within the SaaS sector. Salesforce initially provided customer relationship management (CRM) software to businesses of all sizes. Since they’ve established themselves as a pacesetter within the space, they’ve branched out to supply other features like marketing, platform development, machine learning, analytics, and social networking. 

Many corporations across the globe decide to leverage Salesforce for his or her CRM needs. As a substitute of bogging down internal systems with lots of or 1000’s of customer files, they may be held within the cloud on Salesforce’s virtual servers. Moreover, SMBs can scale the scale of their team through the automation provided by third-party integrations. Corporations like Zapier will connect your Salesforce to other on a regular basis applications like Gmail, Facebook, Slack, and more to make mundane tasks run routinely.

Adobe has been a notable name within the creative space for years. Traditionally, their applications like Adobe Photoshop and other video and audio editing tools were available as individual products. Recently, they rolled all of those tools into one monthly subscription SaaS platform referred to as Adobe Creative Cloud. 

That is big news for creatives. As a substitute of getting to download and re-upload a selected project into several different platforms, they will now navigate seamlessly from one tool to the following as they carry their project from start to complete.

Jira falls under the parent company, Atlassian, and is the corporate’s flagship product. Atlassian’s role within the SaaS space is to supply various tools to software development teams. Jira allows software engineers to interrupt larger projects down into manageable stages. The platform also provides templates centered around traditional development modalities like Scrum, immediately giving users a well-recognized format for his or her projects. Jira also can handle reporting, tracking iterations, and the discharge of the ultimate version.

The software development process is complex. As bugs are fixed throughout the method, versioning can develop into even tougher. Leveraging a SaaS platform like Jira is like having a project manager in your team to maintain everyone heading in the right direction and eliminate redundancies.

Cloud computing is an integral a part of what SaaS is. Without leveraging the style of virtualization the cloud provides, SaaS providers wouldn’t give you the option to disperse their applications as effectively. Being forced to operate and distribute their applications from a dedicated server would greatly hinder their growth and the scalability of their customer base. 

Legacy software providers have to strongly consider a move to Software-as-a-Service in the event that they’re going to compete in the fashionable marketplace. It could appear daunting at first, but Liquid Web is here to assist. 

So what are you waiting for? Allow us to show you ways seamless the switch to SaaS may be. Contact us today to learn more about moving to the cloud securely and simply – without rewriting any code – with Liquid Web private cloud.