SaaS Software Development in 2023 – Best Practices and Challenges

We have witnessed the IT industry’s inexorable rise over the past two decades.

Cloud computing has recently expanded like wildfire. It not only affects how many companies store and access data, but it even affects how many of them operate – going for online services instead of on-device software.

As a result, both SMBs and enterprises are driven to adopt a SaaS platform.

Why? It is efficient, convenient, and cost-effective.

Cisco’s Annual Internet Report predicts that SaaS will represent 75% of all cloud workloads & computations by 2022.

Cloud computing’s growth has resulted in a scalable multi-tenant software architecture with a constantly evolving economic infrastructure.

As the mainstream software delivery methodology, the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market of public cloud services is expected to cost over $122 billion in 2021 & $145 billion in 2022.

No matter if you’re a startup or an enterprise company looking to launch a SaaS service, what matters is you’ll need a thorough understanding of all aspects of SaaS software development to manage engineering resources and budget correctly.

The Scope of SaaS

In recent years, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) business has experienced tremendous expansion. Indeed, the SaaS market is predicted to rise internationally between 2020 and 2025.

Experts predict that the cloud computing market all around the world will rise from $371.4 billion in 2020 to $832.1 billion in 2025.

More than 60% of decision-makers worldwide have already implemented cloud service bundles into their enterprises.

SaaS apps, considered a great alternative to conventional software, have established themselves as a new business standard. It is an excellent alternative for SMEs because it is less expensive than in-house software.

Here’s a video, where the expert, Dan Martell, is explaining SaaS in 9 minutes.

What Is SaaS? Software As A Service Explained (In 9 Minutes) – YouTube

SaaS applications eliminate significant financial risks associated with software because it requires considerable time, human, and financial resources while also providing the chance to deploy efficient, cost-effective software that would otherwise be unavailable to smaller businesses.

It is, however, an alternative that covers a wide range of functions, including office accounting, payroll, CRM, resource planning software, HRM, and so on. The percentage of enterprises choosing SaaS applications for on-premises use is gradually increasing. The overall size of the SaaS public cloud market is forecast to increase significantly and is not likely to shrink.

Challenges of SaaS Software Development

As you can see, it is no easy task to develop SaaS software. Neither is scaling that software. As a business owner, you must consider many factors to stay ahead of your competitors. Let’s check out the best practices for developing Software-as-a-Service products and the problems that might occur.

Ensure Project Duration

SaaS is challenging to develop since it takes significant time and money to get everything correctly. The pandemic pushed the deadlines even further. The biggest obstacle is faster time to market, as your rivals would want to introduce their products at a time when market demand is high. When the epidemic struck, software engineers became in high demand among organizations eager to deliver and maintain new remote work technologies as soon as possible.

As a result, you must plan, develop, execute, test, release, & sell your product as soon as possible. And this is despite a scarcity of experienced engineers with relevant experience. Low-code development & BaaS, for example, significantly minimize the time required to set up a SaaS development platform.

Ability to Scale

Your app’s performance will be negatively affected if your infrastructure cannot handle spikes in load. Your clients face financial losses if the mission-critical SaaS application on which they rely is inaccessible. As a result, your platform must support both vertical and horizontal scaling. It means you must add more assets to a single program as needed or automatically start and shut down different app versions.
Scalability concerns must be considered throughout the design phase. You must grasp how SaaS apps function to comprehend how SaaS development works for your project, whether it is scaling up or down your productivity, and much more.

Data Security

To keep your client’s personal information safe and secure, design your application and use cloud security capabilities. The most basic solution to this problem is to avoid keeping essential data in plaintext and instead utilize hashes.

Docker container security, temporary passwords, decoupled microservices, and a myriad of other cybersecurity features may help protect your users’ personal information. However, It is challenging to configure usage-intensive SaaS applications without in-depth cybersecurity knowledge.

Adaptability

The primary benefit of SaaS apps is that their infrastructure is hosted in the cloud, eliminating the need for dedicated servers in on-premise or remote data centers. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, & Google Cloud backup your files. Also, it ensures system uptime, guaranteeing that your SaaS is always accessible.

However, this comes with a large monthly subscription fee, so if you want to save money, plan on developing and deploying your backup solution.

Efficiencies in Costs

Your customers may be unwilling (or unable) to pay that much for your SaaS. As a result, you may need to devise a method of making money via selling subscriptions. Conduct rigorous market research to determine whether your target market can pay the price of your product.

As a result, maintaining product pricing is critical because it includes regular maintenance, software updates, and other expenses.

Finding a reliable SaaS software development partner allows your company to have access to a talent pool and best practices, guaranteeing that your Software-as-a-Service development is thriving.

Best Practices for SaaS Software Development

Let’s look at a few recommended practices for establishing and managing SaaS software development to help you overcome the above-mentioned challenges.

According to several experts, work on an Appropriate SaaS Architecture Monolithic architecture is the ideal approach for SaaS software development. However, monolithic architecture has a considerable disadvantage. It has a single colossal codebase that any developer can access to update or modify.

As a result, they must make adjustments to the entire stack at the same time. If your SaaS has a monolithic architecture, you need layered architecture. It indicates that the monolith is made up of layers & can easily be altered.

On the other hand, other specialists think that microservices architecture is a preferable choice for SaaS applications. Microservices architecture is built of tiny, self-contained modules. A distinct microservice handles every application process. As a result, each service has its logic and database and serves a specific purpose.

Hire a Compliance Expert For Security Audit

Regarding SaaS development, security compliances are critical. If your SaaS does not meet the required security laws, it might get banned in several countries.

The issue is that each country has its own set of rules. As a result, you should hire a compliance specialist to do a market audit and advise you about the compliances you require & how to obtain them.

For example, when it comes to the European market, GDPR is a requirement. You will not be able to operate in the region if your SaaS does not meet this requirement.

Integrating Features at Early Phases of Development (CI/CD)

Developers can use CI/CD to combine development and operations tasks to automate applications’ development, testing, and deployment.

Throughout the life cycle of software development, modern DevOps processes include continuous development, testing, integration, deployment, and monitoring. As a result, the CI/CD pipeline is the foundation for DevOps operations.

Flexible R&D for Smart Staffing

Are you planning to develop a SaaS solution? Then, it’s critical to take an end-to-end, multi-disciplinary strategy. It includes experts in various cloud environments, compliance, CI/CD, infrastructure management, & customer support, among other things.

While a comprehensive perspective is required at all times, not all experts are needed simultaneously during the development process. As a result, firms wishing to save money while developing & delivering a SaaS solution can leverage on-demand multi-disciplinary development services.

Flexible R&D allows organizations to tap into the world’s most outstanding talent while only paying for assistance when required.

Netsmartz is Your Trustworthy SaaS Development Partner

Let us plug ourselves into this conversation.

To be competitive in the fast-paced SaaS market, your company must always seek innovative ways to improve your delivery process. To do so, you’ll need a reliable partner who can assist you in developing a SaaS product.

Netsmartz, with relevant expertise, can help you in many ways-