Software as a service (SaaS) is a fast-growing IT segment that commands the highest adoption rate among public cloud services, such as PaaS, IaaS, BPaaS, and others. In 2020, the worldwide end-user spending on Cloud Application Services (SaaS) accounted for USD 102,798, which shot up to a massive USD 122,633 at the end of 2021. Gartner examines that the adoption of scalable, on-demand cloud models enabled businesses to achieve cost efficiency and business continuity in a pandemic-afflicted economy. The rise in the adoption of public cloud services is giving an impetus for organizations to accelerate their digital transformation plans.

Understanding more about SaaS app development is significant because it:

  • Helps optimize IT costs and conserve cash,
  • Aids and secures remote work, and
  • Ensures business resiliency.

Watch video: Advantages of moving your key workloads to cloud

SaaS solutions are inevitable in building and sustaining a collaborative, agile, mobile, and hybrid work environment. This post sums up the nitty-gritty you need to know about SaaS application development.

What is SaaS application development?

Ever since the launch of the internet, Application Service Providers (ASPs) that deliver software to users over the internet on a subscription basis have been popular. ASPs allowed users to subscribe to the applications and associated functionalities by following a usage-based transaction pricing model. While it was a major breakthrough, ASPs weren’t fully successful in reducing IT costs and simplifying deployments and upgrades. Thanks to cloud computing; the rise of SaaS applications has lowered the development time, cost, and effort for enterprises. Businesses of all sizes are now expanding their investments in SaaS development.

Software as a service (SaaS) is a software licensing and distribution model in which the application is centrally hosted on the cloud and is maintained and updated by the SaaS developer. Along with Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and Platform as a service (PaaS), SaaS is one of the key cloud computing models that’s widely marketed to both business (B2B) and individual (B2C) users. Netflix, Office 365 suite, Google Workspace, Cisco WebEx, etc. are the common SaaS products that we use every day.

Read more: Top business drivers that power legacy cloud migration

Cloud migration

Why are businesses investing in SaaS app development?

SaaS was an extremely profitable business segment in 2020. According to a 2018-2023 forecast, companies running on SaaS will rise from 51% to 86% in a span of five years. SaaS-based solutions have enabled several business sectors, including virtual collaboration, e-commerce, FinTech, supply chain automation, and healthcare to thrive despite the large-scale disruptions inflicted by the global pandemic. Here are a few factors that make SaaS a hot choice in the investor’s market.

1. Manage costs

SaaS applications require minimal upfront investments. The Pay-as-you-go model allows you to start with a small capital and expand later when you anticipate better business growth and profitability. SaaS application deployment takes less time and money when compared to a traditional on-premise system setup. Most SaaS providers offer dedicated application maintenance and support which saves you from hiring and managing expensive in-house IT teams.

2. Reduce IT dependencies

Your SaaS application development services provider will take care of hardware maintenance, system failures, and downtimes, software updates, routine maintenance, and backups, etc. Based on your business requirements and the services subscribed to, the SaaS provider will help you customize the application, upgrade the software to its latest version, and offer training to your staff. This helps you focus on the core business activities.

3. Seamless integration with other systems

SaaS-based applications can be integrated easily with your legacy systems or any other third-party software that you use. By developing custom APIs and plugins, SaaS providers like Fingent will help integrate your CRM with ERP or HRM with Payroll software. The SaaS application can work as an extension of your current software, adding value to your daily operations. Cloud infrastructure and on-demand computing model empower you to scale up and meet the surging demands.

4. Mitigate security risks

SaaS software providers are responsible for securing the application, operating system, platform, network, and physical infrastructure. Along with these security options, the SaaS provider will help secure your customer data and user access by applying a few techniques such as Identity and Access Management (IAM), cloud data encryption, Data Loss Prevention Software (DLP), compliance solutions, real-time threat intelligence, behavioral analytics, Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) solutions, etc.

Read more: Why is cloud security important? What are the best practices to ensure cloud security? 

cloud security

Points to consider before starting your SaaS app development project 

There are a few technical and business factors to consider while developing a SaaS product.

Technical considerations in SaaS development

  • Database design: Choose a flexible and secure database(s) based on the data type, scalability, anticipated load, budget, programming languages used, read-to-write actions involved, and other specific business purposes.
  • Technology stack: Right technology stack helps build the right SaaS product. By partnering with a SaaS provider like Fingent, you can leverage the latest and the best tech stack to incorporate all the required features into your SaaS application.
  • Third-party services integration: Businesses that use SaaS products may want to integrate their applications with third-party services such as payment providers, chat and email service providers, customer-answering bots, etc. Ensure that the chosen third-party services are budget-friendly, scalable with your growth plans, credible, and offer excellent community support.
  • Regular patches and updates: Your SaaS application should be up-to-date and scalable to match your clients’ growing demands. Software updates must be scheduled, and new functionalities and changes to existing features (feature enhancements) should be tested thoroughly.

Non-technical considerations in SaaS development

  • Conduct market research: Prior to starting your SaaS project, it’s important to analyze the market, understand what users are looking for, study competitors, and then visualize your SaaS solution. The market analysis leads to better project planning with realistic goals in mind.
  • Make the software user-friendly: The end-user of your SaaS product is not necessarily a techie. The software should appeal to the audience for which it’s built. Market it to the right audience by applying a fair pricing and subscription policy. Devise marketing strategies to improve client adoption.
  • Ensure software compliance: Security risk is a major barrier to SaaS adoption. Before publishing your SaaS software, ensure that it has robust data protection and sharing policies, user access policies, regular software maintenance, and 100% compliance with standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, etc.
  • SaaS pricing model: SaaS software market offers a variety of pricing models such as usage-based pricing, per-feature pricing, flat-rate pricing, tiered pricing, and so on. Determining the right pricing model depends on factors such as how much your customers are willing to pay, how far your product is capable of solving their problems, and how your competitors are charging for a similar suite of products. Ensure that the pricing model doesn’t stagnate your product.

SaaS app development best practices

Here are a few best practices to ensure the performance, productivity, and acceptance of your SaaS application.

1. Focus on MVP creation as the first step

Many SaaS developers use MVP (Minimum Viable Product) as the initial step for building a successful SaaS application. An MVP is a fully functional and quickly developed miniature version of an application built to test the SaaS product’s viability. Developing an MVP will help you understand the feasibility of your business idea and the changes to be accommodated based on user feedback. It helps reduce your development cost and effort.

2. Multi-tenancy architecture

A SaaS application isn’t made for a single user. It should be flexible enough to serve thousands or even millions of customers. Multi-tenancy is crucial in cloud computing as it allows multiple tenants (users) with different roles and access privileges to be hosted in the same environment. Each user will have a separate and secured space within the server to store their data. Multi-tenant architecture improves your ROI and helps update and maintain your SaaS application.

3. Personalize your SaaS product

As remote and hybrid workspaces go mainstream, and BYOD becomes common, users seek personalized SaaS products that don’t require extensive admin support. Users demand high-level personalization with your SaaS app. For example, changing the UI’s appearance, integration of Single Sign On (SSO) feature, configuring the dashboard to track the metrics quickly, and so on. They may want the SaaS app to be available in both web and mobile and any other portable devices that they use. Make your SaaS app safe and compatible to address such personalization requirements.

4. Prioritize and optimize features

Adding too many features as well as avoiding important features are equally wrong. Consider the reach and impact of a feature addition, such as how many users will be affected or how many customers are looking for the new feature. Track the SaaS app’s usage patterns by leveraging analytics or run a survey to understand user preferences. If more than 50% of them like an existing feature, optimize it. If only 5% of your users are interested in a new feature, eschew it.

Read more: A comprehensive guide to modern cloud application development

Cloud application development

How Fingent helps develop exceptional SaaS applications within your budget 

With Fingent, you are just a few steps away from building and managing your own SaaS application development team. Right from developing an MVP to actual product launch and post-launch support, our team handholds customers through every stage of development.

InfinCE, the world’s first digital workplace orchestration platform, stands as a testament to our SaaS development capabilities. So are ReachOut Suite FSM and Skill Lake LMS. Our goal is to help businesses solve challenges through technology. We help legacy companies migrate their software solutions to the cloud as well as develop cutting-edge SaaS solutions that empower them to thrive in the new normal.

Read more: What makes Fingent your best technology partner 

Tech Partnership

If you have an idea or a requirement, discuss it with us asap. We will set up a discovery call with you and get back with a ballpark estimate. This is followed by a detailed proposal, including mockups, demo videos, and visualizations. Our communication method is simple enough to answer your queries related to software app development. We do business with organizations of all sizes – small and large – to help them transform lives through technology. Ready to watch us in action? Talk to our SaaS expert now.

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    About the Author

    ...
    Vinod Saratchandran

    Vinod has conceptualized and delivered niche mobility products that cater to various domains including logistics, media & non-profits. He leads, mentors & coaches a team of Project Coordinators & Analysts at Fingent.

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      Cloud Service Models Saas, IaaS, PaaS –
      Choose the Right One for Your Business

      A Quick Introduction to Cloud Service Models

      Cloud computing services and models are gaining tremendous momentum, with more businesses migrating their workloads from on-premise infrastructures to cloud. The ability to use IT infrastructure, software applications, and platforms via the internet has transformed the way businesses operate today. Brands selling products and services online, such as ecommerce companies, virtual collaboration apps, elearning, and telehealth providers leverage at least one or all of the cloud service models to run their business successfully.
      A robust cloud strategy is inevitable to build a successful business strategy. And the most important part of your cloud strategy is to choose the right cloud service model(s) for your organization. Cloud service models are part of the broader trend – “Everything as a Service” or “XaaS.” As you explore the cloud service models, you will find options like IaaS, SaaS, PaaS, and similar terms. Choosing the right cloud service model depends on your infrastructure availability, portability of your application and data, IT staff and resources, cost considerations, compliance specifications, cloud security requirements, and scalability needs. Every cloud service model provides different levels of control and management. So, it’s important to know which model makes the most sense for your business needs.
      Statista reports that in 2021, the total global spending on public IT cloud services amounted to almost 409 billion USD. The largest spending segment was Software as a Service (SaaS), with an approximate annual revenue of 249 billion USD. More legacy business applications are getting replaced with data-driven SaaS applications, ideal for modern cloud architectures. Choosing one or more cloud service models will save your money on hardware and software, and help you manage business applications with greater flexibility and speed, and minimal vendor lock-in.
      Source: IDC Worldwide Semiannual Public Cloud Services Tracker, 2H 2021

      Are you looking for a Cloud Service Provider?

      Why Does Your Business Need Cloud Computing?

      Cloud helps create more seamless business solutions by integrating your applications, deployments, and networks. It provides numerous opportunities to design and deliver new digital services for your customers and employees. Cloud enables your business to respond quickly to the changing needs during periods of disruption. Here are a few reasons why your business needs cloud computing solutions.

      High Performance and Availability

      Cloud services are distributed across multiple cloud facilities. This eliminates your downtime, ensuring high availability. Your cloud service provider will be responsible for updating cloud systems, fixing bugs, and solving security issues in the cloud. The performance gains offered by cloud is higher than that of on-premise infrastructure.

      Scalability and Flexibility

      Cloud computing allows you to quickly scale up or down your computing resources and storage to meet the changing business needs. You don’t have to invest heavily in any physical infrastructure to support the changes, such as an increase in the load levels.

      Effective Collaboration

      Cloud storage makes your data available anywhere, anytime you need it. Location or device constraints don’t prevent you from accessing your data from anywhere in the world. As long as you have a stable internet connection and a computing device (a laptop or smartphone) in your hand, you can collaborate effectively with anyone, in any part of the world.

      Cost Savings

      When you choose a cloud service model, you only pay for the resources that you actually use. Most cloud computing services are pay as you go or pay per use. This is a great money saver for startups and small businesses with lower budgets. Your IT team doesn’t have to overbuild or overprovision your data center, so they get more time to focus on strategic work.

      Advanced Security

      Centralized data backups in the cloud provider’s data centers eliminate the need for maintaining your own backups onsite or offsite. This mitigates the risk of data loss in the wake of a disaster. Cloud providers can help restore your data from the cloud storage, which is automatically updated in real-time. To provide more robust protection, you can implement cloud security techniques, such as data encryption and two-factor authentication

      What are Cloud Service Models?

      Based on the level of flexibility, control, and management you need, you can decide how you want to deploy cloud for managing enterprise workloads. There are three main types of cloud computing service models – SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), and PaaS (Platform as a Service).

      Adopting Cloud – Choosing Between SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS

      All the three cloud service delivery models – SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS – offer enterprises unique advantages in terms of cloud application development, deployment, and maintenance. By comparing each model, you can decide which cloud model is right for your business requirements.

      SaaS

      SaaS Benefits

      Why Should You Opt SaaS?

      SaaS is the ideal choice for small businesses and startups that do not have the necessary budget and resources to deploy on-premise hardware. SaaS applications have simplified remote collaboration, transferring of content, and scheduling virtual meetings in a pandemic-affected world. Companies that require frequent collaboration on their projects will find SaaS platforms useful.
      Statista estimates that by the end of 2022, the worldwide SaaS end-user spending will be valued at 171.9 billion USD, 16% more than what it was in 2021. Supply Chain Management, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Project and Portfolio Management will see the fastest growth in end-user spending on SaaS applications, through 2022.

      Points to Consider Before SaaS Implementation

      IaaS

      IaaS Benefits

      Why Should You Opt IaaS?

      IaaS is the most flexible cloud model that helps manage and customize your IT hardware infrastructure according to your requirements. Whether you are running a startup, a small business, or a large enterprise, IaaS gives you access to all the essential computing resources, including storage, computing, and networking, without forcing you to purchase them.
      ResearchAndMarkets reports that the global IaaS market value is projected to reach $279.5 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 27.2%. Sharing large amounts of information over the cloud will reduce your capital expenditure and convert it into operational expenses, making IaaS a highly cost-effective way to support your operations.

      Points to Consider Before IaaS Implementation

      PaaS

      PaaS Benefits

      Why Should You Opt PaaS?

      PaaS is a great choice if your project involves multiple developers and vendors. PaaS solutions are specific to application and software development and typically include cloud infrastructure, middleware software, and user interface. You don’t have to face the hurdles like procuring, deploying, running, and managing infrastructure. PaaS reduces the operational burden on developers and ITOps teams.
      Developers only need to write the code and manage the apps and data, while the software development platform is maintained and managed by the PaaS provider. This significantly lowers your development cycle. It is easy to create customized applications as the PaaS provider leases all the essential computing and networking resources.
      According to Statista, the global platform as a service (PaaS) market is estimated to be worth approximately 136 billion USD in 2023. Currently, PaaS accounts for about 20% of the worldwide cloud services market.

      Points to Consider Before PaaS Implementation

      Want to know which cloud service model fits your business?

      Why is it Important to Choose the Right Cloud Service Model?

      The rise of remote and hybrid work culture, which became a common trend during the COVID-19 pandemic, has increased the need for streamlined workplace collaboration and secure data storage facilities. Cloud computing has the potential to drive efficiency and uncover new opportunities for companies functioning remotely, without the need for any significant capital investment. Cloud helps businesses, customers, partners, and employees to stay connected, regardless of where they are located. However, it is essential to choose the right cloud service model to truly gain the advantage and remain competitive in the market.

      The ultimate requirement of any enterprise today is to quickly adapt to the growing market changes and address the rising consumer demands. To achieve this, you need to implement the latest technologies, such as automation, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), facial and biometric recognition, AR, VR, and Blockchain. But all of that is possible only if you have a robust cloud infrastructure and cloud-based software.

      Implementing the right cloud service model helps meet your enterprise’s infrastructure needs in the shortest span, without any heavy investment. It provides you the flexibility to scale your computing resources, adapt to new company processes and workflows, design new products and services, and accomplish business transformation with ease.

      Criteria to Select The Right Cloud Service Provider

      Understand your specific business needs before selecting a cloud service provider. Prepare a checklist including all your requirements related to technical, data governance, security, and service management. Assess the potential cloud vendors by comparing them against your checklist. Here are some key areas to consider.

      How Can Cloud Support Your Custom Software Needs?

      The capabilities and offerings of cloud are not limited to data storage, recovery, or backup. Cloud helps manage your company’s complex IT operations, including setting up and running an environment for custom software development. Cloud service models like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) offer the right ecosystem to build custom software applications. PaaS offers users a suite of prebuilt tools to develop, customize, and test your own applications.

      SaaS vs. IaaS vs. PaaS: Which Cloud Service Model Fits Your Business?

      Choosing a cloud service model for your business should be based on the level of flexibility, control, and management you need. A few potential scenarios are listed here.

      When Do You Need SaaS?

      Select SaaS cloud model when you want to:

      When Do You Need IaaS?

      Select IaaS cloud model when you want to:

      When Do You Need PaaS?

      Select PaaS cloud model when you want to:

      Looking For Experts To Discuss Your Cloud Requirements?

      Top Cloud Computing Trends To Follow

      The massive ongoing adoption of cloud computing has been a key enabler of the most transformative tech trends that businesses need to leverage today.

      1 Hybrid Cloud and Multi-Cloud

      Early cloud services typically asked the user to choose between private and public cloud solutions. When public cloud offered more pay as you go services, private cloud systems focused on providing more secure data storage.
      The rise of hybrid cloud aims to offer users the best of both worlds. Hybrid cloud combines public cloud and on-premises infrastructure, including private cloud, to enable data and applications to be shared between them. Multi-cloud computing refers to using multiple cloud computing services from more than one cloud provider, including private and public clouds, in a heterogeneous environment.
      Example of Multi-Cloud Example of Hybrid Cloud
      An organization hosting its web front-end application on AWS, while keeping its Exchange servers on Microsoft Azure Combining your on-premises data center with a public cloud computing environment like Google Cloud
      According to Flexera’s State of The Cloud Report, 89% of organizations reported having a multi-cloud strategy and 80% are taking a hybrid approach, as of 2022.
      Source: Flexera 2022 State of The Cloud Report

      2 Cloud-Fueled AI and ML

      Cloud-fueled AI and ML allow organizations to access the computing power and resources they need to drive innovation, uncover in-depth insights, and make their operations more efficient and cost-effective. Some of the recent AI/ML use cases in customized marketing, recommendations to upsell and cross-sell, healthcare analysis during COVID-19, and logistics and distribution efficiency were made truly possible with the support of cloud services. The disposability, elasticity, and scalability of cloud infrastructure can boost AI and ML software applications. Cloud offers access to large-scale data stores and compute resources that can infer, store, and process high-velocity real-time streaming data, mandatory for training AI models.
      Gartner predicts that by 2023, cloud-based AI will increase up to five times from 2019, making AI one of the top cloud services.

      3 Cloud Security

      The growth of the cloud computing landscape has triggered the need for robust cloud security provisions. To strike the right balance between productivity and security, organizations will opt for multi-cloud security that best aligns with their varying platforms. To prevent hackers from targeting the weak links in the supply chain, cybersecurity experts will devise measures to stop cyber attackers from moving laterally. This can be done by reducing the privileges and entitlements for every internal and external identity. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Zero Trust frameworks will enable fast and secure cloud adoption.
      TechRepublic reports that the global cloud security market will surpass $123 billion by 2032.

      4 Low-Code and No-Code Cloud Services

      Widespread dispersal of organizations and distributed workplaces have accelerated the low-code and no-code movement. People with little or no developer experience (non-IT professionals or citizen developers) can leverage no-code/ low-code frameworks to quickly create scalable business applications that meet the changing industry demands. Pre-built functions and integrations and drag-and-drop functionality of low-code/ no-code platforms empower your workforce to automate workflows and case management activities, integrate with existing systems, incorporate complex business logic, and drive a slick user experience.
      According to Statista, the global low-code platform market revenue is estimated to be worth 65 billion USD in 2027, with a projected CAGR of 26% over the forecast period 2018-2025.

      5 Serverless Cloud Computing

      Serverless computing redefines the way enterprises develop, deploy, and integrate cloud-native applications by eliminating the need for manual infrastructure provisioning and management. It allows developers to focus on optimizing code and application design, without worrying about code execution as it is handled by the cloud service provider. Serverless helps tackle the problem of allocating cloud compute resources by automating scaling decisions of workload services in line with actual service demand. Efficient allocation and usage of cloud resources lead to better cost savings, by avoiding both waste and loss.
      According to Gartner, the best manifestation of serverless computing is “function Platform as a Service”, or fPaaS. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 50% of global enterprises will have deployed fPaaS, up from only 20% today.

      How Does Fingent Help You Adopt The Right Cloud Service Model?

      Despite knowing that cloud is their destination, some organizations get stranded in the middle of an experimental mindset that slows down their efforts to adopt and scale to cloud. Fingent helps such organizations identify a clear business case for scaling up their use of cloud. Our cloud application development, implementation, and maintenance services have helped leading brands, including Fortune 500 companies to outmaneuver uncertainties and sustain operations under severe disruption.
      Fingent helps migrate your workloads to the cloud rapidly and securely by selecting the right infrastructure for your needs. We help leverage the innovation and investments made by leading cloud providers, such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, SAP, IBM Cloud, and others to work for your business. Using cloud-native architectures, applications and data, we help accelerate your organizational speed and agility. Our cloud infrastructure maintenance and development services are designed to ensure higher levels of business performance and sustainability.
      We understand the heart of your business.
      Maximize the value of your cloud investments by partnering with our experts.

      Frequently Asked Questions on Cloud Service Models

      Based on the type of service offered, there are three kinds of cloud service models: Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS).
      SaaS examples: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack
      IaaS examples: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine
      PaaS examples: AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Google App Engine, VMware Cloud Foundry
      The most commonly used cloud service model is Software as a Service (SaaS), with the global SaaS market share projected to reach $145 billion in revenue by the end of 2022, according to research analyst Gartner.
      Before selecting a cloud service provider, you need to verify their technology and service roadmap, certifications and industry standards, SLAs, terms, and conditions, disaster recovery and backup resilience plans, cybersecurity policies, data governance and management, downtime planning, company profile, clientele, migration support, steps to avoid vendor lock-in, and similar factors.
      The most maintenance free cloud service model is Software as a Service. SaaS enables companies to benefit from application usage without the need to maintain and update infrastructure, platform, and application components. Some of the most commonly used online office tools, collaboration apps, ERPs, and email are SaaS-based.
      Platform as a Service (PaaS) is the most cost-effective way for developers to focus on building a highly optimized application, without bothering about software updates on the backend. Businesses don’t need to invest in expensive hardware as the PaaS vendors provide and maintain hardware infrastructure: servers, storage, and networking resources.

      Stay up to date on what's new

        About the Author

        ...
        Vinod Saratchandran

        Vinod has conceptualized and delivered niche mobility products that cater to various domains including logistics, media & non-profits. He leads, mentors & coaches a team of Project Coordinators & Analysts at Fingent.

        Talk To Our Experts

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