The Definitive Guide To Software As A Service Solutions

What is the most enticing thing about Fred and George? Apart from their pranks, of course! Their way of selling things in their shop urges people to buy pranks from them. They provide services (pranks) to people at reasonable prices and also make pranks available on demand. Apart from this, their pranks were easy to use and always delivered. #MagicalMarketingSkills

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Solutions are quite similar; and are becoming more important in businesses across the world. They provide an easier way to get your business up and running. The question that arises here is how Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Solutions are different from other software. Software as a Service (SaaS, for short) is a type of software that is hosted on the internet and can be accessed from anywhere on any device with an internet connection. It's like renting your own copy of the software from a company that manages it for you. SaaS eliminates the need for you to buy and install bulky, expensive software on your device. It simply means you get all the benefits of having the software without any of the hassles or expenses associated with purchasing and managing it.

If you want to know everything about SaaS Solutions, their history, working, types, benefits and future, then you are in the right place!
 

What Are Software-as-a-Service Solutions?

Imagine if you need software for your company to boost sales and manage all the leads and prospects in one place. However, developing software solely to fulfill your company’s needs can be expensive. Here Software-as-a-Service Solutions come to the rescue!

Software-as-a-Service is the cloud-based software delivery model where the provider develops and maintains its own software, automatically updates the application and makes it available to you on demand. Software-as-a-Service models give you access to software on a subscription basis and relay the software remotely to your devices.   

The SaaS solution provider manages all the hardware and software aspects, including middleware, application security, management, etc. This leaves SaaS customers to focus on their business solutions rather than managing or upgrading the application themselves. They are also able to lower costs dramatically; deploying, scaling up/down or upgrading the software requires no maintenance on the consumer’s side. Additionally, they can predict the total cost of ownership with greater accuracy.

Let’s get a deeper insight into SaaS Solutions – but first a dive into its history!
 

History Of Software-as-a-Service Solutions

The consequences of our actions are so complicated, so diverse that predicting the future is a very difficult business. However, knowing the past is still under our reach. So, let’s know the past of SaaS Solutions.

The origin of SaaS can be traced back to a concept called time-sharing which was developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s as an efficient way to use expensive computing resources. The cost of computing and hardware systems went down over the next few decades. As a result, many organizations made the shift to individual ownership of personal computers. However, this proved inefficient on a larger scale as companies were weighed down by ongoing software and hardware maintenance for each user's individual computer.

In the mid-1990s, about one-third of transactions for goods and services were conducted online. The growth of the internet led to an increase in Ecommerce transactions and gave rise to a new type of software that was called "online cloud" applications that made it possible for organizations to access their software from anywhere. #CloudForAll

In 1999, Salesforce launched a SaaS customer relationship management system that competed with other CRM providers at the time. They were early to respond and because of this, became the first superstar in the SaaS space. It remains one of America's largest pure-play SaaS companies today!

With Salesforce having proven the viability of the SaaS business model, companies of all shapes and sizes - including young startups as well as established industry giants such as Microsoft, Oracle and SAP - were eager to move towards it.

Today, SaaS is ubiquitous. Pure plug-and-play companies such as Adobe, Salesforce and Shopify leading the way in this market sector with a projected value of $145 billion by end of 2022.

After knowing its history, let’s get to the real business and know how they work in the next section.
 

How Do Software-as-a-Service Solutions Works?

Every prank sold by Fred and George in their shop works differently and their work has to be explained to them at the time of purchase. Let us also unveil the working of SaaS Solutions so you have no confusion later!

SaaS works as an on-demand computing software delivery model. It is similar to Application Service Provider (ASP), which provides applications and related services to businesses over the internet, with the main difference that external providers do not host it but instead, deliver it through a network interface. SaaS providers are giving customers network access to applications which are stored in the cloud. SaaS Solutions can be integrated with other existing software by using an API (Application Programming Interface). Business users from startups to multinational companies can then use the same applications within their technology setups as they do not have to worry about licensing, updates, etc.

Let’s explore their types in the next section.
 

Types Of Software-as-a-Service Solutions

What is the first thing you notice while entering a shop? Different types of items are placed on different shelves, right? Don’t worry, we are not asking you to name those items. Software-as-a-Service Software too has some types. Let’s learn about them!
 

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM):

  This allows users to keep track of customer information, interactions and manage other records.

• Payment And Billing:

  The software focuses on billing, sales and invoicing services.

• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP):

  With ERP solutions, enterprises can combine and track all of their processes through a single interface and generate required reports.

• Project Management:

  SaaS project management solutions are popular for enhancing cooperation across the enterprise by tracking efforts and progress among teammates.

• Accountancy:

  Accountancy SaaS Solutions streamline the management of financial operations and costs by offering cloud-based, real-time analytics tools.

• Retail and Ecommerce:

  SaaS Solutions for retail and Ecommerce allow businesses to start selling their products and services instantaneously, saving new entrepreneurs money on website development. Additionally, these SaaS Solutions also offer User Interface (UI) design and user experience design to make a business's online presence flawless.

• Communication:

  SaaS-based communication tools are easy to use and can be deployed quickly, which allows organizations to adopt them even to connect employees that work remotely.

• Human Resource Management (HRM):

  SaaS-based HRM solutions can be a low-cost and hassle-free way to handle your company's human resources. These solutions allow organizations to store, access and process all candidate and employee information in one place.

• Content Management Systems (CMS):

  A SaaS-based content management system can help bolster your online presence by providing well-written, organized and augmented content storage and access.

After knowing the types of SaaS Solutions, let’s hop on to the most awaited section – their benefits.
 

Benefits Of Software-as-a-Service Solutions

SaaS Solutions have several benefits that make them important for businesses. The following are the major benefits:
 

• Flexible Payment Methods:

  SaaS solutions mean businesses no longer have to buy and install expensive, permanent IT infrastructure. Instead, they subscribe to a SaaS package and pay monthly fees according to usage. Businesses can keep more control over their expenses with this software because the costs are more predictable and you can terminate them at any time if necessary.

• Scalability:

  SaaS is a cloud service, which means it is super scalable. Customers can alter their SaaS plan according to to need and demand, choosing to access more or fewer features as necessary.

• Mobilization:

  With SaaS, it's easy to mobilize your workforce. You don't need to develop your applications for specific devices or operating systems as providers can configure the application based on the user’s needs.

• Access From Anywhere:

  SaaS Solutions stores data in the cloud, ensuring that the data is always backed up to avoid data loss as any devices fail. Moreover, users can access the data, applications and services from anywhere as long as they are online.

• Easy To Use:

  For businesses with limited IT expertise, these tools are very helpful because they require no special knowledge or skills to be operated, maintained or updated. It’s all on the provider!

Now that you know their benefits, the future of SaaS Solutions awaits you in the following section. Read on!
 

The Bright Future Of Software-as-a-Service Solutions

We are predicting a bright future for SaaS Solutions. Why? These solutions are all set to decide the future for businesses. Through evolving subscription-based solutions, SaaS models will lead to minimized software expenses for businesses. These digital subscription solutions will offer convenience and cost-cutting benefits that will lead to the rapid adoption of SaaS solutions. Also, since the SaaS model is hosted on the cloud, this will minimize local storage requirements and hardware, which will reduce the high degree of manual effort to install and manage them. In addition to that, acquisition cost and responsibility to maintain software will be reduced as SaaS vendors will offer 24/7 uptime and reliable data backups.

Apart from all this, the Software-as-a-Service Solutions vertical scalability indicates that licenses will reduce the dependency on business interaction with the software backend, leading to hassle-free operations. The majority of activities will be driven from vendor’s data centers, so customers can launch and scale digital applications easily and quickly. #PlugAndPlay
 

The End

Saas is awesome, don’t you agree?


It has been proven that cloud service is what an organization needs in order to be efficient and scalable. The benefits of using a SaaS Solution have a significant impact on many aspects of the business, including efficiency and completion rates which are typically higher because it is easy to store data, applications and online workloads remotely, not to mention enhances security and support for systems. All these factors make it easier to switch over to the more efficient SaaS solutions offered by various providers – we recommend you leverage all possible perks this technology offers!