Introduction: The Power of SaaS

If you’ve worked anywhere in the last decade or so, you’ve probably heard about SaaS, or Software as a Service. While it might just sound like another buzzword, like “synergy” or “pivot” or “let’s take this offline,” SaaS really has been changing the world. In this blog post, we’ll be taking a look at why SaaS has been so successful, just how successful they’ve been, and why it’s worth digging deeper to help you in your ecommerce business.

What is SaaS?

Before we can really get started, it’s important to define just what an “SaaS” really is. The Software as a Service model has a centralized platform that’s hosted on the cloud, which the end-user can access from any device. The SaaS user pays a subscription cost in order to access the software. This is in contrast to more traditional software models, wherein a company would have to buy the license to the software up-front and install it on everyone’s computers. SaaS leverages the centralization and flexibility that’s possible with modern cloud computing technology. This really does represent a huge leap forward.

The current SaaS market, now with about twenty years of experience under its belt, is enormous. Revenues were estimated to be in the hundreds of millions for SaaS companies, the market continues to grow, and the businesses that use SaaS tend to have higher revenues as well. There’s no denying the importance and sheer market power of the SaaS model.

Why Use SaaS?

Now, that all sounds well and good, but why use SaaS? What are its benefits?

One of the most important benefits of the SaaS model is its flexibility. Though this has always been a major concern for any business, the Covid-19 pandemic and quarantine have highlighted the need for every aspect of work to be as flexible as possible. If people have to stay at home for whatever reason, work software must be accessible anywhere. This is where a good SaaS comes in. Because they’re hosted on the cloud, the full suite of tools and programs you’d get at work can also be accessible anywhere, from any device. There’s no interruption of the workflow if work can be done as easily at home as it can be in the office. This sort of flexibility will always be important, especially as people look to work from home more and more.

On top of being flexible, the SaaS model also allows for easy and seamless collaboration. Teamwork has always been what greases the wheels of any business, and with SaaS, that’s made even easier. Since everything is stored on the cloud, from the software itself to all of the data, it’s easy for people to work together and share information, feedback, comments, and more. This collaborative power cannot be overlooked. And, as alluded to above, this also means that decentralized teams can also easily collaborate. With the power of SaaS, people don’t even need to be in the same office building, state, or even country in order to effectively work together.

Another important benefit is that SaaS never goes out of style. With traditional software, if a big update comes down the pipeline, a company will need to pay for it, find the time to install it on everyone’s computer and make sure everyone is properly trained to use it. With the SaaS model, however, any updates that are made are automatically pushed to everyone, since it’s hosted on the cloud, without any waiting or hassle. On top of that, any updates to the SaaS are made using the data from all users, so any comments or feedback will be used to improve the process. Who knows – a comment you make might be used to improve the SaaS in its very next update!

Another benefit is that SaaS is actually cheaper than traditional models. While that may be hard to believe at first given the subscription-based payment model, you have to consider how much the SaaS model takes care of. It’s not just about receiving useful software, it’s also that the software is hosted on the cloud. This means that there’s no need for the end-user to deal with the hassle of buying, maintaining, and upgrading massive servers of their own, since the SaaS takes care of all of that data.

Conclusion

There are several reasons why SaaS, or Software as a Service, has taken the business world by storm. As we’ve explored above, the SaaS model is flexible, allows for easy collaboration, receives frequent, useful, and headache-free updates, and can actually be cheaper than traditional software models. The power of SaaS cannot be overlooked.

Are you ready to put the power of SaaS to work for you?

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