Digital tools and services for business make the company’s work and communication with clients much more effective. But developing and maintaining software products is a labor-intensive and expensive process. Every so often, it would help if you had an entire technical department inside the company to update the software or refine the functionality regularly. Software as a service (SaaS) solves this problem for users.
About SaaSÂ
SaaS is a model of licensing software by subscription. Usually, this software is cloud-based, which simplifies its development and use by users worldwide.
The user gets access to the service via a browser or API. The service provider entirely provides its support. To put it simply, the SaaS model is when a customer works with a ready-made solution online. The user pays for access and receives a ready tool for business tasks quickly.
The main feature of the SaaS model is that the customer does not need to purchase a product or license to use it. Instead, the product is leased on a subscription basis. It can be a payment per month or for certain services.
The SaaS application can be used by several people at once using an Internet connection. This allows the team to unite the team’s work and organize the company’s activities properly.
SaaS applications work through a web interface. No additional programs or applications need to be installed. All you need is a web browser. The data is located on the service provider’s servers, and the client can access it from anywhere in the world. More information you can get at https://www.romexsoft.com/custom-software-development/.
Where is SaaS Applied?
SaaS is used in many industries and areas. For example, the popular company task management system and corporate messenger Slack allow simplifying and making work processes more efficient. The graphic design template bank and graphic editor Canva also work on the SaaS principle. It provides the ability to create designs yourself. And the cloud storage service Dropbox allows you to store information on its service in the form of pictures, documents, and other things.
Another example of a SaaS service is Google Docs, which allows you to create and edit text documents directly in your browser. Of course, if desired, you can install a mobile application, but all the information will still be in the cloud storage.
The scope of SaaS today is extensive. For example, such technology is needed in marketing, web development, CRM systems, cybersecurity systems, network infrastructure, etc.
SaaS Software Development Life Cycle
SaaS software development is not an easy process. There are many factors to consider in the development process. You need to know languages and frameworks and experience in this area. You will also need interface design, testing, and so on. It is best to entrust this to professionals who have many implemented cases in various areas of IT development.
However, for a general understanding, let’s consider the SaaS software development life cycle, which consists of several stages:
1.Project discussion. At the first stage of the development life cycle, there is the formation of goals, description of tasks of the future service, analysis of its target audience, needs, and other things.
2.Pre-project research. Analysts study the market for which the service will be designed. First, they analyze the available analogs (including downloadable software) and the target audience’s needs. After this, the concept is supplemented by competitive advantages and then submitted for approval to the engineers.
3.Prototyping. Afterward, a prototype of the entire service is created, in which the logic of its operation and the structure of the interface are schematically displayed.
4.Software design. At this stage, specialists create the project’s architecture and implement all of its functionality.
5.Creation of interface design. Next, it draws a unique application design, considering the UI / UX. For that, specialists are guided primarily by the convenience for future users.
6.Testing. Comprehensive testing of the efficiency of the entire software product: testing of various tools, integration with external services, checking the quality of security, and the correctness of interaction with the user in multiple scenarios.
7.Support and training of customer’s employees. Once the product is ready, development specialists train the client’s technical team on the service’s main features.
These stages involve a SaaS software development engineer, testers, and web designers, who create the web interface of the finished service. The duration of each step of the development life cycle depends on the complexity, terms of reference, and other conditions. A SaaS product can be created in 1 to 12 months.
How Much is SaaS Software Development Cost?
SaaS software development costs depend on several factors:
- The cost of one hour of work of an analyst, designer, designer
- Type of software;
- Term of realization of the functionality;
- The number of work stages;
- The complexity of the functionality and interface;
- The number of adaptability devices (web, mobile, tablet);
- The number of roles in the system;
- Some functions.
One month of active development of a SaaS service costs the vendor $3000-15000, depending on the number of specialists involved and their qualifications. Accordingly, you can calculate the approximate cost of the custom software development and SaaS by multiplying the monthly costs by the total term of the technical task. This may take several months.
Conclusion
SaaS development can act as an additional tool for communication with the client and an independent solution for a startup. This service is most popular among small and medium-sized businesses (B2B). SaaS will be especially useful if the main segment of your target audience is users who would prefer to access the necessary functionality quickly via the Internet rather than download and install the software.
However, it should be considered that SaaS model software development takes a lot of time. Some projects are estimated to cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. The final result depends on the skills of technical engineers and other specialists. In any case, SaaS is the model of the future in software development. More and more CRM systems, hosting services, CMS, and other IT infrastructure systems are moving to this format of web development.
