The SaaS domain is massive and filled with a plethora of organizations crossing billions in annual turnover! From consumer-friendly to business-oriented solutions, you will find SaaS software examples almost everywhere! In this blog, we will be looking at the benefits of SaaS, some of the biggest names in the industry, and how you can start your own journey to join their ranks!
In the era of cloud computing, SaaS has been a cornerstone that businesses rely upon to scale up to the next level. According to a study, the SaaS market, valued at an already impressive US$ 339.1 billion in 2024, is expected to grow at a surprising 19.28% in the next 5 years to reach US$ 818.8 billion by 2029. (Statista, 2024) Impressive right? Spoiler: It gets better.
The presence of SaaS products can be observed across almost every platform, demographic, and industry, however, the exact definition of a SaaS is still blurry to many. Is it like a website? Or an application? Or something completely different? Well, no need to burn yourself out like that! Let’s quickly discuss the concept in the next section to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Get Complimentary SaaS Consultation!
What is SaaS? - The Vanguard of The Cloud Computing Trinity
SaaS, also known as Software as a Service, is a cloud-based application that an individual or a company can rent out on a subscription-based model. Unlike traditional software, which is hosted by the company developing the software, SaaS is hosted on a 3rd party server and the users can access it using the internet, typically via a web browser.
It is the most popular variant of the 3 popular cloud computing services - Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). To keep things focused on the main narrative of this blog, we will not get into the details of each individual service here. But for your general understanding -
[A] IaaS
Think of IaaS as leasing a plot of land with the permission to build anything on top of it according to your wish. It gives you the most control over the application but asks for a lot of maintenance and other responsibilities from your business.
[B] PaaS
Taking it a step further PaaS is analogous to leasing a freshly built home with no interiors done, you can work around it and design it the way you like. It allows relatively less control than IaaS but also demands less maintenance in return.
[C] SaaS
Finally focusing the requirements on the exact niche, SaaS is like renting a fully furnished apartment that is made exactly in alignment with your needs. You are just using the space for your operations and are not responsible for any major maintenance by yourself.
Benefits of SaaS - The Catalyst to a Business’s Success Formula
Compared to the traditional ways of developing and using an application within your business, SaaS has been a game changer due to the several benefits it provides, including -
[1] Easy Access
SaaS applications can be accessed from anywhere that has an internet connection, this flexibility appeals to a lot of working professionals whose job demands a lot of traveling. It even comes in handy for urgent situations, where a certain task cannot wait until you reach the office, the next day. Without SaaS, work from home would not have been a thing, which is also the reason the growth in SaaS subscriptions has been so high since the Covid phase.
[2] Cost-Effective
A SaaS company saves on infrastructure, licensing, maintenance, and several other overheads, and in exchange, they pay a subscription fee that costs a fraction of what they would be paying in a traditional setup. The vendor providing the SaaS solution is responsible for handling all the extra work, you are only in it to take the benefits in return for the subscription fee. Besides, most SaaS providers give you a trial period to get an initial feel of the service, before paying any amount. So, it’s basically a win-win situation for the subscribers.
[3] Scalability
SaaS makes scalability a piece of cake. You can subscribe to a higher tier to scale up the storage, features, and performance of the SaaS any time you want, even in between subscriptions in many cases. And in case the relevance of the SaaS is diminishing over time, you can scale it down or completely shut it off, without any question. In comparison, the scaling up of traditional software needs several months or year-long development cycles for the users, and scaling down is practically not an option. Scrapping the use of the software after it loses relevance only leaves the company with a heavy total of wasted capital investment.
[4] Quick Development
As mentioned in the previous point, depending on the complexity of the solution, traditional software development can take months or even years to complete. For competitive industries waiting several months for a single feature might take away every opportunity they may have against their opponents. Now to be fair, methods like agile development are helping bring this time down to weeks in the case of specific features, which in itself is a big progress. But it ain’t nothing compared to SaaS applications where you get a pre-existing feature almost immediately, and if it is something new in the industry, the SaaS service providers work night and day to be the first to introduce the feature on their product.
[5] Automatic Updates
Software loses its relevance over time, in order to keep up with the ongoing needs of a SaaS business, traditional software solutions need upgrades over time, which demands additional business resources. In contrast, from a user’s perspective, SaaS does not need any manual updates whatsoever, the service provider handles all of that. This takes away a major chunk of the user’s periodic burden, and this time can be utilized in other productive areas.
[6] Promotes Collaboration Globally
Besides being extremely easy to access, SaaS also enables businesses to collaborate in real-time, multiple users can leverage a SaaS application simultaneously, which means employees do not have to wait for their chance, which maximizes efficiency. Coupling this benefit with the initial point we discussed about SaaS being available globally, makes international collaboration a breeze.
[7] Enhanced Security and Compliance Protocols
To reap this benefit, make sure you’re subscribing to a reputed SaaS service provider, as they adhere to the industry-specific regulations and other regulatory compliances to keep you away from any legal issues. Keeping your data secure from any external attacks is also the service provider’s responsibility - so stuff like data encryption, scheduled backups, and scheduled vulnerability checks are some staple protocols that they follow.
[8] Mitigates In-House Efforts
Maintenance is another aspect that needs continuous efforts from the company hosting traditional software. Even if outsourced to a software development team, it is gonna cost a percentage of the development cost every year. While with SaaS, all of the IT protocols including maintenance, regulatory checks, and quality control are handled by the SaaS service provider’s team.
[9] Low-Skill Barrier
While the smartphone revolution has made the average person more curious and accepting towards technology compared to what it was like a decade ago, it still hasn’t reached a point where they’d be prone to adjusting to a complicated UI. It’s human nature to seek comfort and SaaS applications are built keeping this factor in mind. Their simple and intuitive UI allows employees to quickly grasp the functionalities with little to no training.
[10] Integrations
SaaS is versatile, you can even leverage it with your pre-existing traditional software through the use of APIs. This way, entrepreneurs can gain additional features without going through an extensive cycle of development.
Some SaaS Products That We Built
While there’s a whole ocean of SaaS products available in the market, the unique and extremely specific requirements of certain businesses cannot be encompassed by the pre-existing options. That’s where we come in! We evaluate the goals and vision of our clients in the most detailed way possible and chalk out a plan that helps them scale their business to new heights. Here are some of the many SaaS products that we built. You can also check out some additional work on BinaryFolks’ portfolio page.
But that lineup of projects is nowhere close to the limits of our expertise, we have many more projects signed under a strict NDA, so we might not be able to show them to you. That being said, there's a good chance we've already built something like the SaaS product you're looking for. So feel free to reach out, and we can hop on a call to chat about what we've done and share some extra insights too. However, we can surely give you an abstract overview of the areas we covered!
[a] Car Reselling Platform
We built a car reselling platform that let users sell their cars and provide a quote based on the car details entered by the user. Also, a switch to mobile option is provided to the users to seamlessly use the evaluation workflow both from mobile and desktop, even they can pick up an unfinished process from a different device exactly where they left it in another device..Once the quote is generated following the various business logic, the users can review the quote and schedule an appointment. A date- time calendar interface has been built to avoid overbooking. We also enabled geolocation whereby users can get the direction of the car reselling center from their location in real time. For more information: Click Here!
[b] IoT - Device Management and Command Center
We developed a Saas based platform to manage thousands of mobile devices from a single dashboard where we can check the active devices, health status of the devices, the connectivity status, disk usage, form status, reports. Also, backups can be initiated, remote commands can be executed and auto uploaded to server, applications can be released etc. This platform not only remotely manages, controls and commands the device fleet, it also does automated real time analysis of collected data, prepare automated reports, flag anomalies in the system etc. It also remotely updates device softwares, pushes new business logic changes, execute remote commands, raises appropriate alarms etc. For more information: Click Here!
[c] Custom Android OS Manager
Our application runs in the background on those specialized devices to identify if there is any update available for the OS. Before initiating an upgrade, our app also checks essential health parameters (like, battery percentage etc.) of the device to make sure the non-reversible process like OS upgrade completes with 100% success. As the enterprises are also part of various emergency sectors, this application has the provision to schedule / delay the upgradation process at user’s convenient time to avoid creating fatal situations, like medical emergencies. For more information: Click Here!
[d] Media Sharing and Monetization Platform
Using our application, users can create an account and upload files of all sorts ( text / image / audio / video ), convert video files online according to his/ her choice and share the files via email, social media page or a forum. The files can also be downloaded based on certain subscription criteria. Based on plans they subscribe for, they get different level of storage quota for storing the files, uploading or downloading speed and even different bandwidth for file upload and download. For more information: Click Here!
[e] Reputation Management Platform
We built an online reputation management platform that automates the process of review generation and monitoring. It generated a Net Promoter Score(NPS) using outbound emails and SMS with a drip campaign approach. The platform tracks and scrapes specific information from preferred review sites, collects and syncs customer contact details, facilitates easy responses to reviews, and provides robust reporting tools. We added features like negative review management and individual interactive discussion boards for easy customer response. We implemented a REST API that enables live review display and supports embedding website badges. For more information: Click Here!
Brands Dominating the SaaS Market - The SaaS Flagbearers
With the market filled to the brim with SaaS products for every possible use case, it is very difficult to make a name for yourself in the market. However, here are some of the brands that make it possible and are globally recognized for their services -
[i] SalesForce
Salesforce has been the flagbearer of SaaS applications for years by combining cloud computing services with an elaborate CRM model, making it an all-in-one solution for businesses across different scales.
From marketing to lead generation, from customer interaction to operations, Salesforce supports businesses in every possible aspect. The only downside of Salesforce comes in the form of its price, making it difficult for small-scale businesses to sustain while continuously subscribing to it.
[ii] Shopify
It is safe to say that Shopify revolutionized the e-commerce market by allowing businesses to set up an online store and start selling their products almost instantly. The setup does not require any major technical expertise, meaning anyone slightly proficient with computers can set up a store.
The high volumes of pre-built components and customization options allow business owners to customize their online store as they wish! Shopify also addresses some of the mildly complicated areas like SEO optimization and payment gateways to make sure the users can have a seamless experience with online sales.
[iii] Jira
Jira is the most popular way to manage and supervise the ongoing workflows of a software development project. It was built by Atlassian, a well-known SaaS application development company, as their ace product, and gained its popularity with the rise of Agile as a software development method!
What Jira does is - provide project managers, developers, and stakeholders with access to a common dashboard where the progress and issues are transparently tracked, so that every involved party can collectively make sure the project is on the right track.
[iv] Zoom
Zoom is a cloud-based video calling tool that allows organizations to host meetings and other activities online in a seamless manner. Zoom experienced its first wave of grand success in 2020 when COVID forced everyone to stay back home and work/attend classes from a remote setup.
Even with the presence of a giant competitor (Google Meet), Zoom managed to capture a large volume of audience given its rapid adaptation to the needs and focus on the customer experience. Zoom even introduced some features that weren’t offered by its competitors at that time, which also worked in the company’s favor.
[v] DocuSign
DocuSign is a cloud-based electronic signature tool that allows opposite parties to sign a legal document remotely without the need to be physically present at one spot. With the use of APIs, Docusign can be easily integrated across different software solutions, allowing agreement-based applications like property renting, e-commerce agreements, client or employee onboarding, and many more to operate seamlessly.
Given the fact that people are paranoid about the security and how easy it is to forge a signature online, Docusign uses something called a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), that allows businesses to sign and verify signatures reliably with the help of public and private keys.
[vi] HubSpot
HubSpot is well known for its end-to-end marketing-related SaaS products, covering use cases starting from - content management systems all the way up to marketing automation tools and analytics & reporting assistance.
But, that’s not all that HubSpot has to offer, if we talk about the entire service model, it covers almost every operation - from the first contact to conversion - within a user journey. It also offers free courses for individuals willing to learn the intricacies of getting the most value out of a lead.
[vii] Oracle
Oracle also consists of a sales and marketing vertical like HubSpot, however, it doubles down on it by providing a complete business solution by also including an ERP vertical to optimize the resource requirements & supply chain of a business. Oh yes, and it also includes HCM solutions to make sure the workforce is always in top-notch condition.
Besides these solutions, Oracle also introduced Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) which basically covers a business's PaaS and IaaS needs by providing cloud computing services of multiple types to the businesses so that they can run their applications seamlessly.
[viii] Canva
Canva has been a go-to choice for creating visuals across multiple business requirements in an easy and structured way. The best thing about Canva is that it is made primarily for people with a very limited sense of design. This means anyone can create stunning advertisement flyers or infographics without the need for a long learning phase.
It provides an extensive list of templates for the users that they can use as a foundation to build their final output around. Complementing them with robust editing options allows users to really customize the visuals to their exact liking.
[ix] MailChimp
This company has pretty much established its name to the extent that often people in the marketing industry refer to email marketing and MailChimp synonymously. It largely automates various email marketing campaigns a business might be running simultaneously and tracks the conversion rate over time.
Additionally, MailChimp assists businesses with content creation along with building complementing forms and landing pages. It can be integrated with various e-commerce or other platforms to track customer data, and even push reminder notifications to maximize the chances of a successful purchase.
[x] Netflix
A staple choice globally to serve the entertainment needs of users across all age groups, Netflix offers a gigantic list of award-winning shows across multiple genres, available to stream at any time. It is a staple choice for millions of users seeking entertainment on the go or in the comfort of their homes.
From the technology aspect, Netflix leverages an exceptional AI model to suggest viewers additional content based on the content they typically watch. This feature comes in handy when the viewer cannot decide what to watch. Parental control is also a very useful feature that allows the guardians to control the type of content the kids consume regularly.
Conclusion
At this point, we understand that SaaS is crucial to flourishing a business’s digital presence and offline operations. However, the biggest quality of a SaaS application is the fact that it transforms with your business, and that too in a bidirectional way. The demand for a SaaS solution is on a constant rise and isn’t planning to dial down any soon. The AI wave has prompted many SaaS businesses to upgrade their product and also provided many new companies to join the playing field.
If you are one such entrepreneur planning to disrupt the market with your groundbreaking idea, allow us to translate that vision of yours into an actual functioning product. With our team of experienced SaaS developers and an intellectual consulting roster, we are confident to surpass your expectations by the end of the development cycle. How about we start discussing things? The first round (meeting) is completely free!
