6 Best Practices For Driving Effective Software as a Service Application Development
Popular among users and software companies, Software as a Service (SaaS) is efficient enough for replacing traditional software licenses. Throughout the years, technology has changed drastically by making the software industry to be dominated by effective Service delivery and pricing model. As per the studies conducted by 99 firms, 73% of organizations indicated nearly will be using SaaS apps by 2021 and 93% of CIOs are adopting or planning to adopt cloud SaaS. This article is aimed at shedding awareness among businesses over SaaS web applications and platforms. This approach to software delivery and maintenance enables developers who don’t sell programs with a lifetime license or wait until next year’s version for releasing feature updates. Enabling hosting over clouds, users are not required to be installed on computer systems.
SaaS solutions help users with diverse benefits such as:
1. Uncomparable Security
Cloud service compatibility for ensuring data security by storage over safe places.
2. Cost efficiency
No requirement for buying and maintenance of expensive hardware and users are only required for the usage of the application.
3. Scalability
Upgradings and downgrades as per scale in requirements within a few clicks.
4. Reliability
Location of malfunctions among the network of servers irrespective of the geographical location.
With the accessibility of being a cloud-based application, users will have the access to the latest version of the same without any requirement of download updates. This feature also makes SaaS applications have varied advantages of on-premises applications. Businesses can give customers seamless and instant access along with all features and upgrades required for running the software locally. Enabling businesses to plan and carry out regular development efforts for ensuring client retention, can also ensure lower initial costs for users attracting newer ones. Even if SaaS isn’t the most perfect of the app models and doesn’t make it perfect for every business. These can come in handy for businesses/users who caters to a specific niche of purpose who are ready to pay for it. OURS GLOBAL’s SaaS Application development services cut down development costs and ensure optimum ROI saving client time & resources on development, up-gradation, distribution, marketing, and client conversion.
Following Are the Six Best Practices For Driving an Effective Development of a Software as a Service Application:
1. Offering Clients with Clear and Reliable Service
Businesses must guide themselves to giving forward solid and consistent services. In order to encourage clients for signing up for subscriptions, businesses must serve them with an ideal SaaS business model. The SaaS business model is typically ideal whenever a particular application’s benefit is clear & recurring, monetarily benefits clients, and applies to a wider audience. While the cloud-based approach can be the most profitable in the event of a product appealing to a large user base.
2. Extensive Market Research and Definition of Competitors
Developers and application owners must not forget the validation of project ideas by looking at their competitors. If any competitors have not taken the same, businesses must make sure their customer base signs up for a subscription rather than investing in the product upfront. Businesses must check their web app to predominantly follow the traditional delivery model for benefitting much more than the ones of the competitors. Businesses must also check their consumers not be disturbed by the time to time purchase of newer versions of competing software. Willingness to purchase newer versions is a clear indication that your businesses must stick to subscription-based products. Thus it is crucial for businesses for market researching and keeping a look at competitor activities. Time to time analysis for gaps in services or features to respective platforms will provide value and win over customers.
3. Identifying Appropriate Technology Stack
Identifying an appropriate technology stack for SaaS applications is critical for building and running web applications. Businesses may require varied tools for the development of client-facing components of the platform such as HTML + CSS and JavaScript frameworks (Angular, React, Vue.js). The programming languages from server-side development include JavaScript (Node.js), PHP (Laravel), & Ruby (Ruby on Rails). For building a SaaS product, primary relational databases such as MySQL and PostgreSQL. Choosing application servers such as Nginx and Apache can align the best use cases. All these are critical for businesses for estimation of their platform’s scalability, potential profits, and start-up costs before selecting.
4. Development of Pricing Strategy
Each business’s pricing strategy can ensure the success or failure of a web application. With the evolution of the SaaS model, there have been emerging successful pricing strategies too. With the freemium pricing model, an application offers core features for free casting a wide net and appeal to the widest possible audience. Converting free users to paid ones by offering an advanced set of features for a single time or monthly fee. Asking payment for syncing additional syncing across additional devices and data storage in the cloud is also advisable. Businesses don’t necessarily have to give away an extra set of features for free, as this is a great option for attracting customers to newer products in the competitive environment. Businesses whose products target a more niche customer base must offer certain basic features at a minimum subscription price and core features at a higher price that include advanced features too.
5. Hiring and Teaming up with SaaS developers
While the development of a cloud application in a rapidly changing digital ecosystem, businesses must not forget about the operation. This would benefit businesses with time to time updates, feature integrations, and support. Businesses that are not planning for the long term and regular commitment to product development and maintenance must choose in consulting and hiring an experienced team of SaaS developers. An outsourcing partner will be able to offer industry insights and advice to businesses tailored to their requirements.
6. Development of a SaaS solution
Differentiating from traditional software development is the development of cloud applications which requires choosing an ideal cloud services provider. Critical features and benefits of clouds solutions being no requirement for download and installation of software over end devices.
Users won’t have to pay high upfront costs and don’t have to waste valuable storage space and computational power. Running in the cloud, Software as a Service Solutions also frees the hassle over end devices.
Businesses require ample cloud service partners to host their SaaS platform and enable efficient and smooth access for users. The development of a reliable cloud application has the necessity of a reliable cloud host. Choosing a low baseline cost and businesses making them capable of scaling their platform and user base can be a perfect choice.
Businesses must do their own researches for defining the specific requirements of the platform. Businesses must also think of a content delivery network or CDN for ensuring users quickly and reliably access sites or applications from anywhere in the world with a network of servers across the globe. Any contact from the users in accessing products will trigger the closest server, CDN ensures a hassle-free user experience irrespective of the user location.
The costs for the development of a SaaS application may vary depending upon the requirements complexity of the product, features, integrations with other services, etc. Cloud applications can or cannot be the solution for each and every business case, but the SaaS model has quickly gained popularity with benefits that caters to both the application developers, businesses, and users. Businesses who are considering developing SaaS products for infusing into their operations can get benefited from OURS GLOBAL’s SaaS Application Development Services. Our software solutions can also assist users by saving the trouble of browser & mobile app installation. Ping us right away and get advice based on your industry and requirements.
