The Lifecycle of SaaS Development: From Ideation to Execution
According to a Business Research Company report:
“The global software as a service (SaaS) market is expected to grow from $225.6 billion in 2020 to $272.49 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.8%. The market is expected to reach $436.9 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 12.5%”
In today’s tech-driven landscape, SaaS has revolutionized how businesses operate. Rewind a few years back before the likes of Gmail, Teams, and Slack, and you’d find companies grappling with effective communication across different teams. It would demand immense time, effort, and resources to develop communication tools.
Fast forward to the present, we can easily access cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) over the Internet, eliminating the need for complex in-house installations. Organizations worldwide are leveraging SaaS to streamline their processes. From customer relationship management (CRM) tools like HubSpot to content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, remote work platforms like Slack, and social media management tools such as Hootsuite, SaaS applications have boosted and expedited productivity. Moreover, as remote working has become a thing, SaaS applications have become important more than ever.
For those aspiring to tap into this thriving industry, it’s imperative to understand the SaaS development lifecycle. But before delving into the specifics, let’s establish a clear understanding of SaaS products.
What are SaaS Products?
SaaS, short for Software as a Service, is a software licensing model that operates on a subscription basis. Unlike traditional software, SaaS resides on external cloud servers rather than on-site servers. Subscriptions can be paid monthly, quarterly, or annually, based on the chosen plan.
In the SaaS model, vendors or product owners assume responsibility for maintenance, security, updates, and more. Clients access services through web browsers, while product owners host their offerings on computing resources, servers, databases, or third-party cloud platforms. Since Saas products are based on the cloud model, users don’t have to pay for custom installation to use products.
Stages of the SaaS Development Lifecycle
Developing a SaaS product is a complex process that unfolds in various stages. For ease of understanding, we’ll categorize the SaaS product lifecycle into three pivotal stages: Planning, Selection, and Development. Each of these stages encompasses distinct steps, which we’ll explain in detail below. Let’s explore the individual stages of the SaaS product lifecycle.
Planning Stage
Similar to any product development journey, the initial step of the SaaS product lifecycle involves conceiving and envisioning the product. This requires thorough research into the product scope, business requirements, and user needs. Additionally, assessing competitors and the market landscape is crucial.
Once comprehensive data is gathered, evaluating the product idea and assessing potential cloud providers become paramount. Subsequently, defining product requirements takes centre stage. This involves outlining aspects like self-service provisioning, security, user activity monitoring, and multi-tenancy architecture.
Selection Stage
The Selection or Subscription stage is imperative and demands critical decision-making. From the selection of a cloud provider to the selection of the delivery model and pricing- it summons you to put together vital decision-making.
Choosing the right cloud provider requires evaluating factors like discoverability, scalability, reachability, economic viability, and support. Established cloud providers include Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.
Selecting an appropriate development methodology is the next step, with options like Agile, Waterfall, Scrum, and Spiral. Choosing a technology stack is equally significant, as it determines the software ecosystem’s efficiency and ease of development. The stage also encompasses integrating Saas frameworks for frontend, backend, databases, and specialized technologies such as AI, machine learning, and IoT.
The coming process requires you to select delivery models and pricing. Some of the common subscription-based pricing models are Freemium, Fixed Fee, Tiered, Usage-based, Per-user, and Feature-based models. Last, but not the least, specify the monetization strategy. The most important of all tasks- How will you generate revenue? It could be through advertisements, subscriptions, or a freemium model.
Development Stage
Coming down to the most time-consuming and critical aspect of Saas product lifecycle. This stage is all about setting the apt development environment and gradually working on product development. It is advisable to start small and move forward slowly but surely.
Convene a proficient team for SaaS product development, typically including a project manager, front-end and back-end developers, business analysts, UI/UX designers, QA engineers, product managers, and more. The decision between an in-house team and outsourcing depends on budget and requirements.
With a capable team in place, the short-term objective is to craft a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The MVP serves to test the product, gather feedback, and refine business strategies. Launch the prototype among early adopters and beta testers, collecting insights to guide the subsequent development sprint.
Incorporate feedback to enhance features and enrich user experience. As the journey progresses, focus on managing, monitoring, and optimizing the product for seamless operation.
Conclusion
The world of SaaS is rapidly evolving, transforming how businesses operate and communicate. The SaaS development lifecycle encompasses planning, selection, and development stages, each replete with essential steps that guide the creation of innovative and efficient SaaS products.
Understanding this lifecycle is paramount for anyone seeking to prosper in the dynamic SaaS industry, where opportunities abound for those who can navigate its intricacies. If you have a worthy business idea and you are determined to squeeze the benefits from this flourishing industry, then building a Saas product can be an excellent move. It may be a complex and intricate process with lots of steps involved but it definitely has the potential to reap abundant benefits.
