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All you Need to Know about SaaS Application Development in 2025

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a trailblazing software delivery model with cloud-hosted applications. Downloading, installing, and updating software seem to be sinking into oblivion now that SaaS applications are booming in the software market. It’s no wonder, actually, since these apps are subscription-based, requiring only a periodic fee for access from a web browser or mobile device. 

Check out the comparison chart below to get a more profound understanding of the trade-offs involved in maintenance, costs, customization, accessibility, and user control. A set of attributes has been used to plot SaaS and three other software models, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. 

We compare SaaS to other software types to help you make an informed choice that will match your business approach and needs.

As it can be seen, SaaS applications offer agility and cost-effectiveness for companies helping push the market further. Such a powerful effect is mainly exerted through:

• Reduced need for heavy upfront investments.
  • SaaS solutions provide a 15% reduction in IT spending and 16.7% in IT maintenance costs (Capital & Opinions);
  • For example, using SaaS allows smaller companies to pay only $50 for access to an app that would cost thousands of dollars to develop.
• Cloud infrastructure adequately coping with demand periods. 
  • 73% of those questioned are convinced their organizations spend too much time manually planning and budgeting;
  • 50% are planning to extend the number of cloud providers they use in the next two years.
• Facilitated remote work and partnership. 
  • By 2025, 36.2 million Americans will be remote.
• Backups ensuring the lowest data loss risks. 
  • Cloud security is the fastest-growing segment in the IT security market (Exploding Topics);
  • In 2024, 52% of SaaS buyers are choosing it to improve productivity and 47% prefer SaaS as a key to security strengthening.
• Ease of use and accessibility. 
  • 55% of consumers say they have discarded a purchase due to accessibility issues – an adversity which could have been averted by one of SaaS products;
  • 95% of organizations have implemented SaaS technology.
• Customer support. 
  • 79% of businesses said that using a live chat tool helped increase customer loyalty, revenue, and sales. 
• Marketing automation.
  • Over 55% of businesses have adopted SaaS tools for website optimization.

Widespread connectivity of SaaS applications has also converted them into profit-generating business tools, as they are ready to meet market evolving needs by:

• Streamlining commercial operations;
• Freeing up resources for timely business interventions;
• Gaining companies customer satisfaction;
• Increased sales. 

SaaS apps drive monetization and operational assets to their users because they are feature-rich and scalable. That’s why developing your own product in the future is a great choice. 

Types of SaaS Products

In the B2B SaaS market, SaaS products are grouped into horizontal and vertical. Horizontal SaaS software is used across multiple industries, while vertical is niche-focused.

The overview of some selected SaaS product types we offer goes beyond the twofold classification. It is purpose-driven to help you figure out how a SaaS app can become a perfect match to a bona fide business function you are concerned with to hit your business goals. 

Here are some of the SaaS solutions currently available in the market:

• CRM or Customer Relationship Management software is a horizontal flexible cloud-hosted solution that leverages commercial and promotional operations. Its numerous attributes comprise centralized customer data, automated sales and marketing processes (like lead scoring), sales performance tracking, and marketing data visualization, to name just a few. Some examples of this SaaS product are HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho CRM.
• ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning software can be both horizontal and vertical. It is used for centralizing the data derived from the crux of business workflows and operations, among them accounting, customer service, human resources, and supply chain. Besides, it automates order processing, invoicing, and other business tasks, conducts performance tracking, makes finance / HR / CRM, and other modules available for customization. Examples of this software include NetSuite and Odoo.
• Billing and Accounting is a horizontal SaaS category (with possible vertical adaptations) which equips businesses with expense tracking, payment gateways integration, financial record management, automated tax, currencies and exchange rate calculations. These applications can also integrate with CRM, ERP, and other SaaS products. Xero and FreshBooks are great examples of SaaS accounting apps.
• Collaboration Instruments are horizontal cloud-based tools and software applications ( vertical adaptations are possible) that reinforce teamwork and project management by ensuring real-time communication (Slack, Zoom), collaborative document editing (Google Docs), project coordination (Asana), and safely shared resources (Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive).
• Custom Solutions are horizontal, highly adaptable software applications which respond to exact demands of particular businesses. Custom solutions are highly scalable, their development cycles are faster than those of traditional custom software. Some examples of these solutions would include industry-specific platforms, white-label platforms, and fully custom SaaS CRM/ERP systems.

SapientPro offers you a comprehensive range of top-notch SaaS development services, brining to life ideas of any complexity. Tell us about your idea of a perfect SaaS app for your business, and we will harness a cloud-based software solution to satisfy your request.

SaaS is one of the technologies that brought a major change to the tech world. However, we can’t be sure that it’s here forever without analyzing the data. Based on our research and SapientPro’s expertise, SaaS will remain a major trend in the nearest decade.

In 2024, the SaaS market generated over $200 billion in revenue, which is no wonder since companies estimate that 70% of the business apps that they use today are based on SaaS. This tendency will increase to 85% by 2025. 

It is also predicted that over the next five years, roughly 95% of workloads will transition to the cloud. More long-range forecasts assume that by 2025 such popular SaaS applications as CRM and accounting will dominate the market with a $60 billion share. By 2028, as anticipated by KBVResearch, the global remote workplace services market will extend to $67 billion, its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) constituting 22.3%. 

Just to be clear: with consideration to the above-presented in-depth research, SaaS applications will definitely leverage your business vision by optimizing digital processes and driving exponential growth to your revenue. It looks like this type of software will keep up its popularity surge, remaining highly relevant in 2025.

In case you are not fully aware of the possible pitfalls that can occur during SaaS application development and maintenance, here’s the truth: this is uncharted territory you can easily get into, so gear up with some insights we’ve prepared. Full story here.

Zero Downtimes & Easy Updates

Bugs and security breaches are a big concern for software developers, as they can significantly impact the way everything worlds. A potential issue can lead to credibility loss, productivity reduction, and reduced revenue. However, SaaS solutions can mitigate all these risks due to these benefits:

• Blue-green deployment: when two identical environments (blue and green) are run, so that, for instance, a new code can be tested without disrupting the users’ digital sessions. 
• Rolling updates: when the app is being gradually updated across servers while remaining available for users.
• Load balancing: if there is a server outage, another server will take over through traffic distribution. 

Also, developers frequently use various strategies to comply with industry regulations and ensure seamless access to the SaaS solution:

• CI / CD;
• Breaking down the application into microservices;
• Using feature toggles;
• Backward-compatible updates.

All in all, creating a sustainable balance between easy updates and their deployment to end-users without any disarrays is a prerequisite to the SaaS app's impeccable quality.

Hybrid Infrastructure

Another prerequisite will be a setup where on-premises systems, private clouds, and public clouds are combined. This invariably brings about a number of brainteasers for the developers:

• Integration complexity issues coupled with compatibility issues;
• Ensuring consistent security standards across multiple environments;
• Data migration and distribution;
• Centralized monitoring;
• Complex diagnosing issues;
• Balancing the workload between on-premises and cloud environments;
• Managing costs across a multiple environment;
• Implementing DevOps practices.

Despite seeming complex, the multiple environments challenge can be effectively responded to by some tools like:

• Hybrid cloud management platforms;
• Centralized monitoring, security, and data management solutions;
• Standardizing deployment processes;
• Coherent policies for data management and security.

Hybrid infrastructure challenges can be managed with the help of meticulous planning and advanced tools. As it stands, multiple environment’s values definitely outdo its transient toughies. 

SaaS Scalability

Scalability is among key requirements in SaaS development, and it’s about how efficiently a SaaS application can manage the multiplying numbers of new users, data volume, and erratic usage patterns. If not predicted, prevented or securely fixed, these issues will directly lead to such app’s malfunctions as:

• Downtime and latency;
• Ineffective data distribution;
• Negative impact of one tenant’s activities upon others (for apps with multi-tenant architecture);
• Over- and under-provisioning of resources;
• Poor management of inter-service communication, data consistency, and service discovery;
• Inadequate load balance.

With a productive set of optimization strategies and advanced cloud-native technologies, scalability challenges can be successfully overcome. Here are some of the alternative approaches: 

• Leveraging cloud services to cope with fluctuating loads;
• Allowing individual components of the application to scale independently by adopting a microservices architecture;
• Implementing database sharding and partitioning;
• Using automated scaling mechanisms and load balancers;
• Multi-tenancy optimization through effective tenant isolation;
• Tracking performance metrics, usage patterns, and resource consumption with monitoring tools.

Responding to scalability challenges is multifaceted and intricate. Nonetheless, it is a crucial measure that will yield seamless and, consequently, unrivaled customer experiences.

If you want more takes on SaaS application development, then you will certainly opt to immerse in the process of creation of high-performing apps. To ensure the software solution has a strong foundation for success, our development team applies a time-proven development algorithm. 

A SaaS application development project requires an alloy of strategic, technical, and creative roles. The scale of the project would normally determine the team composition, however, in the meantime you can explore a rundown of the development team structure commonly built by Sapient Pro:

• 1 Business Analyst 
• 1 Project Manager 
• 1 UI/UX Designer
• 1 Quality Assurance Engineer
• 1 Front-End Developer
• 1 Back-End Developer
• 1 Solution Architect

The benefits of this structure are very much in evidence: a SaaS application developed by such a team will be totally customer-centric delivering frictionless digital experiences to end-users. 

Take, for instance, Easygenerator, an educational platform enhanced and refined by the SapientPro team. As a result of our cooperation, a number of distinctive SaaS product features were introduced to the platform: 

• Responsive and user-friendly landing pages;
• Improved website loading time;
• Website display adapted for different devices;
• Enhanced website performance.

Due to our properly structured and well-balanced development team, it is apparent that technical as well as client-oriented features of this SaaS product were efficiently addressed. Talk to us to learn about the team we will form for your project.

Clearly, every SaaS application’s key characteristic is that it should operate as a working business model facilitating high-performing and user-friendly app experiences. Apart from this perk, SaaS products will gain you other benefits, including but not limited to subscription model, multi-tenancy, scalability, automatic updates, accessibility, pay-as-you-go, reduced IT burden, and customization. 

These features are optional, though, as we would adjust them to our client’s request. Meanwhile you can learn about any SaaS product’s fundamental features that we’ve selected for you to unlock its potential together with us.

Support Channels

Through these channels, users seek help, have problems fixed, and acquire further advantages from the software. These include:

• User onboarding (provides the knowledge of how to navigate the application, encouraging users to fully adopt a SaaS product);
• Rapid issue resolution (ascertains the SaaS product is trustworthy);
• Direct feedback loop (provides insights for the developers on possible product improvements); 
• Instant and easy access to the support system (reduces churn rates, resulting in more committed customers).

Here are some most common support channel types:

Overall, support channels not only boost customer satisfaction via direct immediate assistance, but also promote SaaS product improvement through valuable users’ feedback.

Free Trials

No-cost trials are a safe way for potential customers to examine a SaaS product’s functionalities and gauge whether they fit their needs. 

Benefits of free trials’ assets include:

• Building customers’ trust;
• Presenting the product’s potential to solve the users’ problems in real time;
• High probability of turning pre-conversion users into paid customers.
• Collecting data on users’ preferences;
• Minimizing churn rates.

Viable implementation of free trials normally consists of the following essentials:

• A 7-day, 14-day, or 30-day trial period depending on the complexity of t SaaS solution;
• All or most premium features access to demonstrate the product’s full potential;
• Proactive follow-up communication to boost conversion chances; 
• Automated reminders about the trial's end date and explicit information about subscription options;
• Freemium model strategy, when basic product features are indefinitely offered at no cost.

Thus, free trials make an informed and wise choice and are essential in the market strategy for a SaaS product, since they generate leads, help devise comprehensive marketing strategies, and guide the insights of how to amend a product’s offerings.  

Payment Systems

Any SaaS product comes with a payment system: it provides a means that allows customers to subscribe, submit payments, and manage their transactions. Payment systems are therefore conducive to maintaining lasting customer relationships and revenue generation. These systems are evidently undefeated if they provide the mechanisms that:

• Enable scalable monetization;
• Make it easy to sign up, pay, and manage subscriptions enhancing customer experience;
• Support multiple pricing models allowing flexibility for customers;
• Automate financial operations to ensure timely payments and improve cash flow;
• Fully protect customer data;
• Are comprehensive enough to provide global accessibility including multiple currencies support, localized taxation, etc.

Payment systems are not devoid of certain specificities: if there is a large user base, a need might arise for building a custom payment system which provides greater control, at the same time requiring more development resources. Thorough testing of the payment system helps validate whether it can efficiently handle edge cases. 

In essence, when developing a SaaS application it’s paramount to kick things off with a robust payment system, as it will reduce churns, win customers’ trust, and altogether expand the business. 

Analytics Tools

To handle a SaaS app product, it is primary to obtain insights into the performance of the  app’s key utilities and overall business metrics. To fulfill this purpose, analytical tools will come in handy for both SaaS providers and customers. 

Via analytical tools development teams obtain a solid base for strategic business planning including product optimization and its alignment with user needs. In their turn, customers gain detailed insights into their own data and usage patterns.

To fast track your grasp of analytics tools role in any SaaS application, we’ve stratified their major functionalities in the chart below:

All in all, analytics tools optimize SaaS product development and customer satisfaction: timely assessment of the app’s performance results in safeguarding data, enhancing functionalities of the app, altogether providing customers with the insights they need to succeed.

Other Features

Further SaaS features embrace a number of functionalities. Here are most common of them:

• Cloud hosting and accessibility;
• Multi-tenancy architecture;
• Automatic updates and maintenance;
• Security and data privacy;
• Customization and configuration;
• Scalability and performance;
• Backup and disaster recovery;
• User management and roles;
• Mobile access.

These features have ranked SaaS among cornerstone innovative technologies, making it an excellent business solution for individual users and businesses. 

If jumping straight into initiating the development of a custom SaaS app still feels a little bit daunting, you should uncover some statistics on modern SaaS products and SaaS-driven companies. We summarized users and revenue highlights in one chart for your reference:  

Now we can settle this once and for all: SaaS apps are key drivers of a company's growth efficiency, easing the software advancement on its way to meeting the changing business needs. Want to know more? See full details on the three SaaS solutions below.

Canva

Canva is a worldwide accessible high-performance design platform with a user-friendly interface. Its extensive library of templates enables users to create spectacular visuals for social media posts, as well as professional presentations, marketing graphics, video content, and more. 

Having transformed graphic design vision, Canva rates among the top 100 most visited websites in 61 countries. The Canva tool appears to have attracted 135 million active monthly users by leveraging key SaaS functionalities which we have summarized in one chart coupled with the advantages they promote: 

Wrapping up Canva exploration: this graphic design tool has much to offer for design enthusiasts, teams, and businesses. The platform’s breakthrough in today’s digital market is verified by the upsurge in users and profits over the recent years.

SalesForce

Salesforce is among top cloud-model adopters, a CRM vendor that guides companies towards growing their businesses. This is achieved primarily by means of facilitating management and automation of diverse operations including analytics, sales, marketing, customer service and AI (while we’re on the subject, 69% of SalesForce customers are using the platform’s embedded AI functionalities to gain value). 

Here is another compelling SalesForce fact: by 2027 the global SalesForce market is predicted to reach $12 bln, with a CAGR of 7.9 % over the time span considered.

SalesForce invariably remains at the forefront of the CRM industry by offering fault-tolerant and ready-to-use features and tools:

Briefly, we’ve shown you why the position of SalesForce among SaaS top players is not just about the numbers, but how smart use of cloud technology really matters. On a related note, the enterprise cloud marketplace, AppExchange, was introduced with the purpose of creation and distribution of applications that integrate with Salesforce’s product offerings. Customers can use numerous apps on AppExchange to take fullest advantage of their CRM platform.

Slack

Another cloud-based platform is Slack, one of the top tools for team and business communication. Direct messages make interaction more effective, long-form conversations get dynamic and operative with video calls built-in functionality. The Slack app serves multiple purposes, among which is the functionality allowing integrations to easily connect software you already use to its platform. This feature has turned Slack into a workable commercial nexus for any business type. And here’s a convincing detail: by 2025 Slack is forecast to yield revenues of over $4 bln worldwide.

Want a full breakdown of Slack’s features including for and against points? You’ll find it below:

See the changes caused by SaaS products? Let the SapientPro development team get you on the track to achieving commercial results that you’re after. Drop us a line if you’re seeking an answer about what SaaS product will best fit your needs.

One of the most important steps in developing a SaaS product is understanding the related costs. The estimages range between $100k and $1 million, depending on thousands of factors. Online guides are also not trustworthy, as they never consider your individual situation. Only a detailed estimate by a tech partner can help you understand the real costs.

If you’re looking for straightforward, easy-to-follow advice on how to set your budget sensibly, then watch this video.

You in? Having set achievable goals, you are ready to invest into your unique SaaS product. Its cost will vary depending on such factors as:

• Timeline;
• Features list;
• Expected project load, which affects the time required to build the project’s infrastructure;
• The number of specialists on the development team;
• Design complexity;
• Third-party integrations;
• Subscription management;
• Data Storage and bandwidth;
• Hourly rate.
  • US rates: $100–$200/hour;
  • Western Europe rates: $50–$120/hour;
  • Eastern Europe rates: $30–$70/hour.

Technically speaking, approximate development hours for key SaaS features can be summarized in a chart:

Clearly, the client’s unique request will determine this list’s possible extension. Below you will find some most general estimates. Please keep in mind that your project will get a detailed estimate based on all your requirements and expectations.

Estimated SaaS cost in the US:

Estimated SaaS cost in Western Europe:

Estimated SaaS cost in Eastern Europe:

We would like to remind you that hosting (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud), databases, and ongoing DevOps may add extra costs to your SaaS product development. Besides, there will be periodic expenses on the product's ongoing maintenance and updates. However, developing an MVP with basic features can cut your expenses. 

If you want to effectively allocate your resources, reach out to SapientPro, your go-to service provider, to get a rough estimate of your SaaS project followed by a detailed cost calculation and a timeline estimate.

SapientPro is a powerhouse of expertise and creativity when it comes to developing a SaaS application for your company. With over 70 developers on board we have been a trusted partner for 200+ businesses since 2017, earning an average rating of 4.9/5 on Clutch.

Collaborating with SapientPro means getting a high-quality, scalable, and futureproof SaaS solution for all platforms. We apply our expertise and industry best practices to ensure you get profitable software that attracts new users and meets your needs. 

Check out all our reviews and case studies here? or contact us now to discuss your project and get an estimate

Increased accessibility, versatility, heightened security, and budget-friendliness are persuasive facts that speak volumes for ready-to-use SaaS solutions. Businesses can gain from SaaS delivery models in several ways: company team members can easily access information with all data stored in the cloud; SaaS apps secure cost reductions, boosting your company’s operational efficiency. 

Connect with SapientPro, a reliable software development company, to produce your SaaS solution in line with your requirements and built to the best-in-class standards. Our tech-adept engineers will work collaboratively with you, ensuring superior user experience through out-of-the-box smart digital services. Partnering with us on your next project will yield you substantial revenue from your business.

What is SaaS development?

SaaS or Software as a Service is a software delivery model which customers are not required to install. A service provider or third party hosts SaaS applications, making them accessible to users from any device whenever needed. SaaS solutions are easily scalable, secure, and have flexible payment options.

What are examples of popular SaaS products?

SaaS products are extensively used across many business sectors. Some instantly recognizable brand names are: Google Workspace, Salesforce, Slack, Zoom, HubSpot, Shopify, and Asana, among others.

How much does SaaS development cost?

The total cost of a cloud solution depends on SaaS product complexity (involving time and resource), customization (including custom-built features and UI/UX designs), and integration requirements (such as third-party services and APIs). A trusted service provider will make a rough estimate to help you effectively allocate your resources.

How long does SaaS development take?

Depending on the product complexity, the timeframe for a SaaS software ranges from 2 to over 9 months.