What is SaaS?
SaaS is the abbreviated form of Software-as-a-Service. SaaS, in simplest terms, refers to developing and hosting an individual’s or organisation’s software/application on servers provided by cloud service providers where end-users access the software’s data and applications via the internet through subscribing to the software solution thereby eliminating the need and hassle of hardware requirements, data storage and management etc.
In other words, outsourcing all your hardware requirements to a third-party cloud service provider such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) which will host all your software applications, data, network etc. on their data centres/servers and the end-users can access all of the software’s functionality through the net.
The data centres of cloud service providers maintain, manage and update all the relevant requirements to host any software and maintains a single instance of the software and distributes the copy to multiple end-users. It is basically a type of software licensing and distribution model. SaaS provides easy scalability with the help of this model.
♀︎ Alternative terms for SaaS :
⤖ Web based software
⤖ Web hosted software
⤖ On-demand software
SaaS has many applications at both business and individual level such as customer relationship management (CRMs), financial management, productivity enhancement ( like Google workspace ) etc. It benefits digital marketers, entrepreneurs, creators, etc. by providing minimal input cost and high output profits.
SaaS has now become a fundamental and essential part of every organisation ranging from finance to medical sector. The industry is expected to grow year by year and would become a multi-billion dollar industry in the near future.
The main benefit why SaaS industry is on the rise is because it is easy to implement, easy to debug and easy to update while providing cost-effective software service and solution to the end-user via only a fast and reliable internet connection. The end-user only needs an internet connection and that’s all.
The next thing that would pop up in your mind is that how SaaS businesses earn money? Well, the answer is that the users are subject to various pricing models like pay-as-you-go, pay per user etc. But normally though, SaaS users have to subscribe to the software, either monthly or annually. Businesses price their software based upon several factors such as value to customer, software development effort and investment etc. Many successful SaaS businesses include Salesforce, Hubspot, AWS etc.
Everybody is using SaaS without even knowing they are actually using it. The examples include Google Docs, Microsoft Excel ( if you type excel.new in the URL), Dropbox, Resume builders etc. SaaS is increasing being used for email services, storage services, etc. They have become part and parcel of our lives.
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