What is a SaaS Software? What are the Benefits of Using One?

Lights! Camera! And Action!

That’s what John McCarthy (a computer scientist) thought when he introduced the concept of cloud computing.

He said, “Computation may someday be established as a public service” in 1961.

The web-based technology needed to support SaaS, however, wasn't widely available until the late 1990s.

At that point, businesses like SalesForce began providing everyday business products like CRM as SaaS. Do you remember when you used to go to visit your local hardware shop just to purchase a new software CD? Having to purchase a physical copy was a headache. Issues like security problems, expensiveness, or non-scalable software were recurring.

As Plato once said, “necessity is the mother of all invention”, Salesforce took it seriously. They launched their first “time-sharing system” aka the first SaaS solution for their CRM platform in 1999.

In simple words, SaaS or software as a service is like a one-stop solution for businesses where rather than installing software, you can access data via the Internet.

Software as a service company has been in the spotlight for a long time now. Companies are integrating SaaS features into their workflow system to automate and skyrocket their results.

This liberates people from complex software and hardware management issues.

Enough about SaaS history!

Let’s see why this industry is expected to reach USD 720.44 Billion by 2028 as per Globenewswire.

So fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a SasSy ride!

What is a SaaS Software?

“I am gonna make him an offer, he can’t refuse”

As a B2B SaaS startup founder, you often think about this, right?

Yes, It’s a quote from the Godfather movie.

SaaS is a platform used to sell, distribute and manage cloud-based software services. It enables users to access information or resources from anywhere through a simple internet connection. SaaS software removes the need for organizations to install or maintain applications on their own.

Customers can easily pay or negotiate through a simple subscription model. The smooth integration of third-party applications and add-ons spares vendors from unnecessary costs.

This novel system works both ways and is less expensive in terms of infrastructure, logistics, and manpower. It’s no surprise that new unicorns SaaS startup Darwinbox became the fourth unicorn of 2022 and is ruling the industry.

Talking about the features, SaaS business solutions handle all your updates which leads to negligible disruption in the business operations and processes.

Some examples of Saas tools are email, calendering, Dropbox, Salesforce, Cisco WebEx, and SAP Concur. These platforms have redirected customers from traditional brick-and-mortar businesses to the modern technology market. Now people can use SaaS tools, easily purchase applications and then lodge them on a device through this model.

Fun fact: The phrase "ATM" is redundant. As "machine" is represented by the "M," you are repeating the word twice. In the same way, "SaaS software" truly refers to "software as a service software”.

Now that we understand the essence of SaaS. Let’s talk about the benefits of SaaS software.

5 Benefits of Using SaaS Software for Companies

Here’s the thing: “Here’s my unique functionality, I want to press a button and I want to make money.”

That line got you hooked? Right?

What we are going to discuss now is practical for every SaaS company building a SaaS product.

So listen up!

In the business brainstorm podcast, Jakob Greenfield and Travis Fischer (founder- of Sassify) discuss why there is no Shopify for SaaS.

You can listen to the full podcast here.

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), public cloud spending is estimated to grow from $229bn in 2019 to around $500bn in 2023.

Well, these stats clearly show why Saas is going to rule the future. Here’s what the CEO of Visma, Oyestin Moan has to say in a discussion on “The future of SaaS”.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1496818305499344899

It’s time to analyze the benefits of using SaaS  software for companies:

Easy to use

SaaS business solutions can work in favour of you, all you need is an internet browser and connection.

Since the software is hosted externally by a vendor, you can update and debug your software without any challenge. It removes the workload and responsibility from your shoulders.

Consider this situation for B2B businesses.  If an online shop needs to store a huge amount of data, uploading directly to google drive isn’t feasible.

SaaS applications can help you in these situations. They are designed to integrate and collaborate with many users. New services and solutions can be added without the need for software, making it easy to share information across teams anytime, from any device.

For example, Jira is a project and issue tracker. The platform is useful because it allows you to organize tasks, plan sprints, and assign different tasks to software teams. It monitors workflows and can implement and survey large-scale projects.

Product-led Storytelling

Peter Thiel (co-founder of Paypal) once said, “Customers won’t CARE about any particular technology unless it solves a particular problem in a superior way” in his book Zero to One.

Yes, care is the right word here. Today, people need to care about your product hence, old-school ways are not working anymore.

Armed with this, if you want to share your new SaaS business solutions in the market, Product-led storytelling is the way to go. Here’s what you need to know about the Product-led storytelling approach.

First: you can have an incredible SaaS product but to market that “incredible” product, you do need a compelling story that puts the company in motion.

Second: It’s a way to help your customers remember what problem your product solves and how it can better their lives. In short, each product-led story should be aimed at showing how one of your ideal customers will overcome one problem.

Third:  When you have done the grunt work of showing rather than telling how your product is the best, it’s time to blend content strategy and story-product narrative.

It’s time to get your audience to take action when they read any piece of your SaaS content. All it takes is the right SaaS storytelling framework and a product story narrative.

Take it from the master of “Product storytelling “ Victor Eduoh ( a product-led  SaaS content strategist) who appeared on Hubspot and Growth mentor.

“It is a product-focused form of SaaS copywriting. It involves the art of crafting your copy with helpful stories, showing how your target audiences can overcome obstacles using your product.”

Scalability and Integration

SaaS helps in strategies like collaboration, e-commerce, and billing software. For example, If you install sufficient billing software, it has extra capacity and can handle all your data spikes plus billing resources.

The benefits of SaaS are that it's simple, fast, and scalable.

Look, you pay for the services you purchased. Everything else is handled by your Saas product whether it’s anticipated or unexpected.

For example, companies like Badger Mapping integrate with Excel to import locations. presents the user to upload information immediately after signing up, this is the power of SaaS integration.

On that note, it also improves the overall customer onboarding experience.

Minimal Commitment

We all know running a business means having a lot on your plate. Nobody wants to keep an eye on every process in a business.

SaaS is flexible and has pay-as-you-go models that allow flexible payments. It reduces the burden on companies.

You don’t need to worry about any investment in IT infrastructure or day-to-day maintenance.  The SaaS provider takes care of all of this for you as part of their all-inclusive service.  This approach is cost-effective and makes your expenses predictable.

As per research, SaaS providers do need to address service quality loopholes and find out which factors are crucial for continued SaaS usage.

When it comes to minimal commitment, most SaaS companies offer different plans that include varied pricing options. Now, this helps your customers to choose what's best for them and minimizes your team's work.

Better Collaboration

Collaboration in today's age is important for every business. SaaS applications are everywhere.

From healthcare to the cloud-based industry, it's important to connect your teams and bring them on the same page. SaaS supports your team to manage all the tasks, share projects and also exchange ideas in real-time.

This is crucial if you’re working remotely (which now everybody does). Even 73% of businesses are planning to improve their collaboration strategies.

Tools like Mockplus idoc help designers, and developers work together. It’s easier to connect your entire product design workflow which saves your team's time so that they can focus on making better  SaaS products.

Real-time collaboration can also save you from bummers. If your team member in one location makes a change in any file, document, or presentation, this information is immediately available to the others on the team in other locations through the cloud delivery system.

Conclusion

To conclude, SaaS software is like renting an Airbnb, where you don’t have to pay for refurnishing or food, you pay as per stay (sometimes for extended stays).

On top of this, you don’t have to worry about any cost associated with the house maintenance or even marketing it. The cloud-based model takes care of everything, eliminating the need for an onsite maintenance team.

Sid Nag, vice president at Gartner claimed, “Cloud is the powerhouse that drives today’s digital organizations,”.

The unique nature of SaaS allows potential buyers to look through the lens of brands and focus on the advantages of  SaaS products.  The very reason why end-user spending is about to reach $500 Billion in 2022 as per Gartner.

The goal of this article was to help new SaaS founders choose the best solutions for their business and use software and data access over a web application.

It’s high time to utilize the beauty of SaaS and employ this ready-to-use software over the Internet.

Also, incorporate it into your business strategies and enjoy the results.