We’ve all heard of SaaS, or Software as a Service, but what is it and what does it mean for your business? Learn in this guide to SaaS!
SaaS is a business model where you can pay to use software over the internet. That means that you don’t need to buy a license, license the software, or install it on your computer.
All you need is an internet connection, and you can pay a monthly fee, or often, a yearly fee, to use the software. It’s a model that will change the world.
But let’s start with the basics for our newbies!
What is SaaS and how does it work?
This guide to SaaS explains how the SaaS model works: You have an idea or project that you want to take to market. Maybe you have a website, an app, or a mobile game. It might be a website you want to launch, or it might be a mobile game you want to develop. You want to design the site, create the app, or develop the game, but you don’t have the time or expertise to do it all yourself.
So you do it all using a provider’s SaaS software. Instead of doing it all yourself, the provider will do it for you, using the tools and software that you purchase from them. This allows you to focus on building and scaling your business while the provider focuses on maintaining and improving their service.
Why is SaaS the future?
In the last decade, software delivery has gone from being a thing that a few IT gurus and hackers tried to do in their spare time to something that large companies are doing to compete with competitors. This is a result of the internet and new devices being released that help improve productivity by allowing us to get things done in an instant.
When we used to go to physical places to get a specific kind of laptop that could install software onto it, that was difficult and complicated. But now, software is so accessible that anyone with an internet connection can download it and install it on their computers. And this isn’t just for b2b SaaS software but b2c as well that your company needs to run.
What are the benefits of SaaS?
It’s free to use. Software as a Service (SaaS) is the easiest way to save money along with saas security by running your own software. SaaS companies don’t need to pay expensive hardware or software licenses to each user. And instead of licensing software for each individual user, SaaS companies typically offer software as a service.
Here’s an example: You’re an e-commerce company and you have products in stock in your store, but customers want to order an item immediately. Since you don’t own a warehouse or store location, and you don’t need to ship products to customers, a better solution is to offer the software as a service. You would pay a monthly fee to use the software so you can sell and ship products. Learn more about the advantages of SaaS here.
What are the downsides of SaaS?
Some businesses have gotten a lot of flack for their practices of using software sales for paying customers. Those businesses have tried to say that they are making money through some other method that is not SaaS. For instance, a restaurant would say it’s making money by just selling food and drinks to people, and then customers will pay to have the food and drinks delivered to them. However, that isn’t how SaaS works.
When you pay for an SaaS platform, you are paying for a fixed amount of use time. When you use the software, the software sends you a bill, and you either pay the bill, or you don’t. When you do pay the bill, you are using the software for the minimum amount of time that the software wants you to use it.
Conclusion
With the pace of change in technology today, it’s vital that you stay on top of the trends, and SaaS is at the very top of the list. This is a trend that will impact every aspect of your business, so be sure to understand what it is and what it means to your business.
And what’s more, there are some SaaS developments coming up in 2017 that will bring your business even closer to the cloud. Are you ready to build your next enterprise software powerhouse? We will keep covering the latest development of SaaS in the upcoming guide to saas for you!
Enterprise-grade SaaS software lets businesses manage their entire software stack with ease, enabling them to embrace cloud, microservices, and the latest web and mobile technologies. From modern development and deployment to security, disaster recovery, analytics, and more, Enterprise-grade SaaS is built with the enterprise in mind.
We hope this guide to SaaS has enlightened you with the basic information of SaaS and it’s functionality in the simplest way possible. To learn more about SaaS refer to the SearcHound blogs now!