Advantages of SaaS application development in 2024

The Software as a Service business model is the most beneficial model with a strong perspective that tends to grow in the next few years.  According to Statista, In 2021, the software as a service (SaaS) market is estimated to be worth approximately 152 billion U.S. dollars and estimated to reach 208 billion U.S. dollars by 2023.

It is a practical and comfortable model for customers who use a service and also convenient for service owners because of the ability to offer customers customized subscriptions to any budget. It allows the service to be affordable for those who don’t have much of a budget to spend a lot of money on the service but still use the services and those who can spend more and get more additional functions.

But is it hard to develop SaaS? What to pay attention to, and what resources do you need to conduct SaaS’s software development process properly? We have an answer for you.

What is Software as a Service (SaaS) model?

Software as a Service is a way to provide customers with your product through cloud systems, which means clients don’t have to install it on their computers. Commonly, customers receive access to the product in a web browser when they log in and can use it.

How does the model work?

The company service provider offers their product for the subscription. The subscription terms and offers can vary, and the model depends on the service provider. Commonly we see the following models:

• 1-month subscription;
• 3-months subscription;
• 6-months subscription;
• 12-month subscription;

Also, each model can have its features set that a client gets for a specific price. For example, it can be:

• basic set with essential features only;
• extra set with additional features and expanded functionality;
• premium with the best services the product has to offer.

Advantages of the SaaS model

Developing a SaaS application opens many opportunities and brings more advantages to your business. There are advantages for the company which owns the product and the customers who use the service.

Advantages of the SaaS model for product owners

1. Regular income. The subscription model guarantees you regular revenue, which you can calculate and see, even for months ahead.
2. Easy maintenance and fast updating. With SaaS, you don’t need to own and maintain your hardware, as cloud computing platforms are responsible for the maintenance of the hardware. Such an approach guarantees reliability and reduced costs that you could spend on purchasing and maintaining all the necessary hardware.

Also, it allows service providers to update the service automatically and fast, so users don’t need to update the product manually.

3. Scalability, flexibility, and security. The flexibility and scalability of the SaaS model allow it to implement new features, functionality, or integrations from third parties fast and flawlessly to meet all the needs and fast-paced demands of the audience.

Moreover, a cloud computing platform guarantees you a high level of security, which is a vital aspect of service.

Advantages of the SaaS model for users

1. Customizable pricing. Users can choose what pack or set to choose, what features they will use, and for how long. When someone needs to use it for one project, they can choose the cheapest and simplest subscription. It is a win-win situation, as the user spends less money and does not buy unnecessary features, and the service gets a client.
2. Trial period. Allows clients to try the service first and then decide whether to buy it or not. Such an approach breaks possible doubts and myths and increases the chance of subscription.
3. Availability on different devices. A user needs just an internet connection to use the service, which is very comfortable.

SaaS and Web Application. What is the difference?

Their main difference is in the amount of provided services.

The Software-as-a-Service business model has the following characteristics:

• subscription model, when you pay for a month of using the service;
• accessible through sign-in;
• easily scalable.

Examples are Zoom, Slack, HubSpot, and Dropbox.

Web Application is a program or software which can be used through any web browser and also such characteristics:

• no need for installation
• access from different platforms such as laptops or smartphones and web browsers.

Examples are Airbnb, and Atlassian.

How our team develops SaaS

ASD Team’s SaaS development process consists of six stages.

Stage 1. Discovery Phase

The project Discovery Phase is a critical stage and is highly recommended conduct. According to CBInsights, 42% of startups fail due to misreading market demand.

During Project Discovery Phase our team conducts the following steps:

• Gathering and analyzing information
• Presenting all the gathered information with the help of presentations or other tools to visualize and structure information.
• Creating high-quality requirements using the gathered information;
• Making Proof-of-Concept, which allows one to understand if the concept can be realized technically;
• Outlining timelines and budget, where the Project Manager with the development team define how much time and resources they need for development;
• Agreeing on the next steps with the client.

Stage 2. Planning

The planning stage is responsible for defining every aspect of the software. We define the main aims of the product, the target audience, and the main features with business analyst’s expertise during this stage. All these aspects help to reach the best results.

Stage 3. Design development.

It is essential to develop a proper User Interface (UI) design that meets the target audience’s needs. It must be intuitive, understandable, and comfortable for users to use the product.

Stage 4. Architecture design.

Our team uses the following providers:

• AWS. Amazon Web Services is one of the most famous and widespread service providers. It has more than 200 services like computing, storage, databases, analytics, networking, developer tools, management tools, etc.
• Azure. Microsoft Azure provides not only Windows-based services but also many other languages, platforms, and technologies, which gives absolute freedom to develop and maintain any application.
• Google Cloud. This one is smaller than the previous two, as it has more than 100 services, including networking, computing, big data, and more. The fact it is smaller does not stop it from providing decent services. Such giants as Twitter, Paypal, and Spotify use Google Cloud.

Stage 5. Development and testing.

The 5th stage starts the primary process of building the product by developers. The QA team also takes part in this stage as they ensure that the code is well-tested and has as few bugs and issues as possible.

Stage 6. Maintenance.

After the product’s deployment, it is high time to gather users’ feedback to see what strong and weak sides the product has. According to the information, we develop new features or improve existing features and fix bugs and issues.

What specialists are needed?

Project manager. Project management is a vital part of the development team. Without a professional project manager, the whole development process is in danger of being unstructured and unorganized. It causes increased budget spending, lost time, and struggles in development.

Business analyst. Developing business requirements, gathering them, searching for solutions, and defining the business needs of the product are a direct Business Analyst’s obligations.

UI/UX designer. UI\UX designer is responsible for developing a proper application design that makes the user experience easy and intuitive. To do that, designers must collect, research and evaluate user requirements to create the design according to the target users’ needs.

Backend and Front-end developers. Specialists who directly build the software.

QA engineers. It is unquestionably that every product requires thorough testing after coding. QA Engineers conduct accurate testing to reveal any possible bugs and flaws to fix as many as possible before the deployment of the product.

SaaS application is indeed a beneficial and prospective model to develop. It has many advantages for the company, as well as for users who use the product.

It is crucial to choose the right SaaS application development company to make the SaaS application development successful and deploy a decent product in the market. A company with the necessary experience and expertise can develop according to the demands and requirements and further decently maintain them.

References:

statista.com