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The concept of SaaS, or Software as a Service, dates back to the 1960s.
IBM was one of the pioneers in this area.
Yet, it wasn't until the 1990s that SaaS had the resources it needed to grow.
Today, 80% of businesses use a SaaS application.
On top of that, this industry is expected to keep growing in the next few years.
This article will cover everything you need to know about SaaS.
We'll start by explaining the concept of SaaS and differentiating it from PaaS and IaaS.
We'll also go over how the SaaS business model works and what the advantages of using SaaS are.
As well we'll give you some examples of SaaS applications.
SaaS is software available online through third parties.
Instead of installing software on your computer, you can access it online.
In these cases, it doesn't need complex software and hardware management.
As we'll see later, Google Apps (now Google Workspace) is an excellent example.
So, how does the SaaS business model work to make it so successful?
As we've mentioned, SaaS is a product offered through the Internet.
This means SaaS is in charge of maintaining servers, databases, and software.
Meanwhile, SaaS users pay a subscription to gain access to the software.
As it relies on recurring payments, one of the bases of the SaaS business model is customer retention.
And what is the key to customer retention in SaaS?
Well, it seems to lie with customer service.
In fact, the main reason SaaS customers switch providers is customer service.
This even comes above the existence of better or more complex products.
Yet, it's worth mentioning that another aspect of this model is regular updates.
These updates don't need to be big or mind-blowing.
Some involve keeping SaaS up to date, improving security, and adding new features.
Of course, other reasons make the SaaS business model work so well.
We'll take a look at them below.
These acronyms refer to three different types of cloud computing.
Since they can create confusion, we'll review them in this section.
We have already explained the concept of SaaS, so we'll move on to comparing SaaS vs. PaaS vs. IaaS.
Let's see what each one stands for.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) includes cloud-based and pay-as-you-go services.
These include storage, virtualization, and networking and are often handled by IT administrators.
Meanwhile, Platform as a Service (PaaS) is software and hardware tools developers use and are available online.
An example would be Google Compute Engine, while a measure of PaaS would be Windows Azure.
The main difference is the level of the given control. Moving from IaaS to PaaS to Saas provides companies with more control.
In summary, we use IaaS to transfer data, PaaS to build software, and SaaS to use various tools.
They're all becoming more and more popular as more and more companies move to the cloud.
When we wrote this article, IaaS was taking the lead.
We've discussed that SaaS is usually a subscription-based product.
Not only are there exceptions, but there are also different subscription models.
Although we may not pay them much attention, we use SaaS platforms daily.
They have countless uses and are accessible to both individuals and companies.
We hope this article has given you a clear idea of what SaaS is and its business model.
The concept of SaaS, or Software as a Service, dates back to the 1960s.
IBM was one of the pioneers in this area.
Yet, it wasn't until the 1990s that SaaS had the resources it needed to grow.
Today, 80% of businesses use a SaaS application.
On top of that, this industry is expected to keep growing in the next few years.
This article will cover everything you need to know about SaaS.
We'll start by explaining the concept of SaaS and differentiating it from PaaS and IaaS.
We'll also go over how the SaaS business model works and what the advantages of using SaaS are.
As well we'll give you some examples of SaaS applications.
SaaS is software available online through third parties.
Instead of installing software on your computer, you can access it online.
In these cases, it doesn't need complex software and hardware management.
As we'll see later, Google Apps (now Google Workspace) is an excellent example.
So, how does the SaaS business model work to make it so successful?
As we've mentioned, SaaS is a product offered through the Internet.
This means SaaS is in charge of maintaining servers, databases, and software.
Meanwhile, SaaS users pay a subscription to gain access to the software.
As it relies on recurring payments, one of the bases of the SaaS business model is customer retention.
And what is the key to customer retention in SaaS?
Well, it seems to lie with customer service.
In fact, the main reason SaaS customers switch providers is customer service.
This even comes above the existence of better or more complex products.
Yet, it's worth mentioning that another aspect of this model is regular updates.
These updates don't need to be big or mind-blowing.
Some involve keeping SaaS up to date, improving security, and adding new features.
Of course, other reasons make the SaaS business model work so well.
We'll take a look at them below.
These acronyms refer to three different types of cloud computing.
Since they can create confusion, we'll review them in this section.
We have already explained the concept of SaaS, so we'll move on to comparing SaaS vs. PaaS vs. IaaS.
Let's see what each one stands for.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) includes cloud-based and pay-as-you-go services.
These include storage, virtualization, and networking and are often handled by IT administrators.
Meanwhile, Platform as a Service (PaaS) is software and hardware tools developers use and are available online.
An example would be Google Compute Engine, while a measure of PaaS would be Windows Azure.
The main difference is the level of the given control. Moving from IaaS to PaaS to Saas provides companies with more control.
In summary, we use IaaS to transfer data, PaaS to build software, and SaaS to use various tools.
They're all becoming more and more popular as more and more companies move to the cloud.
When we wrote this article, IaaS was taking the lead.
We've discussed that SaaS is usually a subscription-based product.
Not only are there exceptions, but there are also different subscription models.
Although we may not pay them much attention, we use SaaS platforms daily.
They have countless uses and are accessible to both individuals and companies.
We hope this article has given you a clear idea of what SaaS is and its business model.
