What is a SaaS product?
What does it mean to be SaaSy in the IT world? Software as a Service is still one of the most convenient ways to sell your product (if you are an entrepreneur) and use it (if you are a client). Gen X and Millennials can recall moments from the past when they had to buy separate CDs for every app and ask somebody to install it. The biggest problems were the lack of inbuilt memory and the long-running process of maintaining the program. I still remember how my local disc C turned red anytime I got a new program and how I could make coffee and clean my room while the app was installing. Also, if the computer is RIP, you can say goodbye to the app as well!
It was hard for me as a little girl who only wanted a new game. What about large companies? For them, it was even harder to install every program separately. However, imagine it as if you developed the idea of how to solve these issues for the great market. You come up with a new CRM solution; even small businesses need it. They need a program that would fit in the computers of all workers and the one that would be easy to maintain. You make it cloud-based and available for everyone by subscription! You solve all problems at once. Well, except it was Salesforce’s idea 15 years ago. They were the first to create a SaaS product to share with the public. They gave rise to the software distribution model so that now we have Google Apps, DropBox, or Canva.
What makes SaaS so special and popular among the users?
- It is cloud-based and works on the web. There won’t be any files, folders, and docs on your computer. Once you pay, you get access to the app. However, you have to be connected to the Internet which is not a problem in 2020. Looks like soon they’ll connect wifi to the trees.
- Subscription payment. To have access to these apps you will have to pay just as for the traditional installing software. However, comparing with on-the-premice products, you don’t have to give away one large sum at once. It is a subscription meaning it will cost you an affordable sum per month or per year. Also, providers allow you to try the app for a week or so and only then decide if you want to continue using it.
- Constant service providers’ support. Once the access is permitted, you won’t need to care about updates. You won’t need to call to system admin at 2 AM and tell about settings problems. With the SaaS model, everything is the responsibility of the provider. All the updates will be completed automatically. People will view the latest version of the product without any redundant actions from their side.
- Software-on-demand. To be considered SaaS, it should necessarily be SOFTWARE accessed on the Internet. Not any other type of information. People often wonder if Netflix is a SaaS model. Well, not exactly. The only familiarity is the subscription model. Netflix, HBO, Apple Music provide content: video, music, photos. You watch it, you rewatch it, and that’s all. It is a Content-as-a-Service model. Youtube a SaaS because users can download videos themselves. As soon as Netflix allows users to film their own movies and have it on their platform – it will become SaaS.