SaaS Application Development Services

Software-as-a-Service is a modern approach to bringing technology solutions to multiple users over the web. You can use SaaS to deliver all sorts of applications and software to be accessed through web browsers. Users usually purchase a subscription to use SaaS-based products.

Typical examples of SaaS are email, office tools, communication platforms, calendaring software, eCommerce applications, EHR, ERP, HRM, and CRM systems, marketing software, streaming services, etc. All popular business products can be SaaS-based. If you want to learn more about different kinds of SaaS platforms and their implementation, talk to SaaS consultants at Fively.

SaaS development can free companies from buying expensive hardware to build, support and maintain in-house infrastructure. In addition to budget savings, SaaS platform development reduces the environmental impact and makes your business more sustainable. The main business advantage is that you can offer your customers an effective subscription-based partnership meaning they pay only for the services they need or the users they actually have.

If you want to develop a SaaS application, one of the first things you should decide on is the type – horizontal or vertical. The main difference between them is the target audience: horizontal SaaS products are for all users (e.g., email service) while vertical platforms cater to the needs of a particular group from a certain industry (e.g., a CRM system). If you are wondering which type of SaaS may work better for you, we offer SaaS consulting for businesses of all sizes.

Software-as-a-service is on-demand, multi-tenant, and delivered via the Internet. Instead of hosting all your data and apps in-house, you utilize a cloud server and provide access to your product via a web browser. Each user has a separate database while utilizing the same application. A custom SaaS application can provide a wide range of important features that allow users to process all kinds of information and share the results of their work with others.

SaaS is a type of business software deployed on the cloud. It is vital to understand that cloud computing and SaaS are closely related: the first offers infrastructure and services while the second creates ways to deliver a cloud-based application to users.

No, not always. Sometimes SaaS developers build a SaaS project on a local terminal and then deploy it to the cloud server. However, a SaaS business cannot exist without the cloud environment.

Google Cloud platform is a well-known option when you build SaaS products. There are many other cloud servers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Apache to name a few. As a rule, our clients already know which one suits their case – for example, the one they are already using. If you are not sure which cloud platform is the best choice for your project, our SaaS consultants will analyze your requirements and make some suggestions.

SaaS platform development means building cloud-based software for users to access it through the Internet browser. The process includes SaaS consulting, creating architecture, writing documentation, SaaS platform design and development, QA testing, and finally, deployment to the cloud.

You can turn a traditional web application into a SaaS product and start offering custom Software-as-a-Service to other companies by subscription. SaaS application migration from one cloud provider to another is quite popular as well: for example, some of our clients choose to migrate from Google Cloud platform to AWS, and we provide all required services. All you need is an experienced SaaS development services provider like Fively: we conduct a step-by transition process accompanied by modernization and risk assessment so that SaaS migration is smooth.

SaaS product developers have in-depth knowledge of programming languages for back-end development – for example, Python and its frameworks Django or Flask. In addition, SaaS developers use JavaScript and its frameworks, PHP, NodeJS, and other tools to build the front-end. Developers may choose a different tech stack for SaaS app development based on certain requirements and limitations, industry specifics, etc.

Before proceeding to SaaS product development, it is important to decide on a business model and all possible ways to monetize your future platform. A common practice for a custom SaaS application is charging subscription fees that can be based either on the number of users or on the feature sets. Businesses effectively use this monetization model with products available via web browsers, desktop, and mobile devices. One more option for a SaaS business is to make money from royalty percentages.

Here are some short recommendations for those who want to build a SaaS business.

1. Analyze the market and conduct interviews with customers. Come up with an original solution to solve a problem better than similar products do.
2. Create a plan for your startup, including business model, growth strategy and tactics, schedule, etc.
3. Analyze the cost of customer acquisition to create your own selling model.
4. Find financing for your SaaS-based business. The common ways to do it will be bootstrapping your startup or pitching the idea to VCs or angel investors.
5. Partner with a SaaS development company that provides SaaS development consulting and has a proven record of completed projects. Specialists can roughly estimate a SaaS development cost for you and help make informed technology decisions. The partner will also provide project management while you are busy negotiating with investors and conducting marketing campaigns.
6. During the development process, continue working on your brand and distinguish which marketing efforts work best.
7. If your industry requires following specific regulations (e.g., Healthcare, Insurance, Banking, etc.) make sure your SaaS product is compliant.
8. Establish clear success metrics and apply analytics.

SaaS companies are organizations with a product mindset that offer full-cycle services to startups and traditional businesses. You can partner with a SaaS application development company for consulting, planning, prototyping and UX/UI design, development, scaling, modernization, technical support, migration, and more.

Analyzing the modern-day market, you can see many reasons for SaaS app development: it is relatively fast to launch, more and more organizations are investing in such software, and the current SaaS market estimation is over $160 billion.

Another reason to choose SaaS development is that you will get a flexible and customizable solution that quickly adapts to the needs of any organization and industry, provides specific features and supports business processes.

In addition, a SaaS product offers many great ways to analyze customer preferences and stay ahead of your competitors.

The main difficulty of SaaS product development is building a unique and useful functionality that can potentially leave behind other solutions.

One more pitfall is that for large customers you may need to develop both versions of your product: a cloud-based application and on-premise software.

In addition, a SaaS development cost may also be challenging, because you will regularly invest in upgrading your product to keep it relevant for customers while there is a risk of losing some users that are not satisfied with updates.

Statistical data proves that time-to-market for a SaaS product is typically 20-40% less than for traditional on-premise software. If you choose professional SaaS development services and your SaaS project of average complexity, its development and implementation will take from 4–5 months to 1 year. Such results are achievable with a SaaS application development company that will run your project through six main stages: discovery, UX/UI design, architecture , development, testing, and deployment to the cloud environment.

The best way to estimate SaaS development cost is to determine the complexity of your project, such as the number of features and APIs, scalability, configurability, security requirements, etc. These are the factors that affect the SaaS app development cost from the product point.

One more important factor is the team for your SaaS development project:

• how many specialists you need;
• what skill levels they should have (it depends on the complexity of your SaaS app);
• where the team is located (e.g. North America is an expensive region while in Eastern Europe you can hire equally qualified developers for less money).

If you want to get a free estimation of your project from SaaS development professionals, just write to SaaS consultants at Fively.