eCommerce Glossary: SAAS

Glossary

Understanding the In's and Out's of an Industry Standard

What is Software as a Service?

Software as a Service or simply SaaS (also known as subscribeware or rentware) is a software method of licensing and delivery, which allows you to access the whole process via online subscription instead of buying and installing the whole package on your PC. It is also sometimes referred to as "on-demand software" or formerly "software plus services" by Microsoft. So, this is software that allows you to use cloud-based apps such as email, calendar, and office tools over the internet. As we are already familiar with the meaning of SaaS, we can now unfold what is a software as a service, what it can be used for, the benefits and general details about SaaS software.

Two people collaborating on web design with connected UI components

Well, we have already covered this briefly above, so here let's dive deeper into details to see how it is made, i.e., its structure. The majority of SaaS solutions are based on multilayer architecture. With this model, all the customers (or tenants ) use a single version of the application and a single configuration, whether it is an operating system, network, or hardware. We distinguish two kinds of SaaS: Vertical SaaS and Horizontal SaaS.

#Vertical SaaS This is software that specializes in a specific industry, such as software for healthcare, agriculture, real estate, finance industries, etc.
#Horizontal SaaS The horizontal SaaS focuses mostly on software categories like developer tools, HR, marketing, sales, and so on.

There are a few exceptions though, some SaaS solutions do not use variety, or use other mechanisms, such as virtualization, to cost-effectively manage a large number of customers in place of multi-tenancy.

SaaS Best Practice For Your Business

Main Usage for SaaS Solutions

You may think that now there will be a list of confusing terms and processes for IT people, but no. Moreover, to your surprise, you have already used some form of SaaS if you are using a web-based email service like Outlook, Hotmail, or Yahoo! Mail. SaaS is the most common use of the cloud. If we speak about numbers, statistics show that 35% of apps are used for file sharing, 28% of them for online accounting functions, other 28% are used for payroll and HR, 27% are used for online backup and storage, and 7% are used for support and helpdesk. Finally, the remaining 6% of them are used for online CRM.

#Top Apps For SaaS

The top 5 apps that businesses use from 2017 are:

If you are still not sure whether SaaS services are useful or not, we can state that since 2017, 56% of companies are using multiple SaaS vendors, and 47% of IT companies' budget is spent on SaaS.

#SaaS Best Practice For Your Business

If you are new to this field, we suggest you start with a free trial to determine if the app is right for your business. Most of the SaaS vendors will provide a 30 day trial period. You better make sure you become an (almost) pro on any SaaS you are currently using or planning to use. If you are a company, train all your team members, too.

Read the SLA closely. Understand the service levels you are expecting from the customer (vendor) and what actions you can take should those service levels not be met. If you have decided that your company will use SaaS and your team members aren't actively utilizing the particular application, communicate with them to understand why. It could be as simple as they don't understand how to use the software properly.

It is very important to define what "actively using" means for your business: daily, weekly, every two weeks. This will change, surely, depending on your industry and the purpose of each application.

When we talk about software helpers, we want them to be effective, flexible, and easy to use.

Benefits of SaaS Offerings

No Hardware

As we do not like complex software apps, there shouldn't even be a discussion about hardware solutions! So that's why the best advantage of SaaS software is that it is hardware installation free and heavy investment free. The SaaS software services deliver all the processing power that you need, so businesses are free to stay focused on delivering quality services instead of worrying about the technical aspects. The apps are ready to use as soon as a subscription is confirmed, which translates into quick deployment and rapid prototyping.

Cost

In "lieu" of spending large amounts of money on hardware installations, SaaS applications can be easily downloaded and maintained. SaaS is providing notable savings, as the first 30 days of start date is a free trial among most apps. In addition to all these, pay-as-you-go models let you pay only for what you use and nothing more. SaaS is beneficial, especially for small businesses, as it provides access to expensive, high-powered software that might have been otherwise unobtainable through conventional purchasing methods. And as we like to say, "time is money," and fortunately, SaaS can save both.

Scalability And Integration

As we already know, SaaS solutions "live" in cloud environments that are scalable and have integrations with other SaaS offerings. As opposed to the traditional model, you won't have to purchase any additional server or software. You only need to turn a new SaaS offering on, and, in terms of server capacity planning, the SaaS provider will own that. Moreover, you'll have the flexibility to be able to scale your SaaS use up and down based on specific needs.

The virtual world is growing and changing much faster than the world we live in. You should make learning new things an everyday process to be successful in your business. So keep your eye on the newest updates that the digital world suggests to you and motivate your team members (or friends). We are here to tell you what's new and help to understand them better!

Clarity Ventures is fully capable of utilizing both front-end and back-end software integrations with your e-commerce platform. We believe in innovative solutions to give your business a competitive edge.

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