SaaS: Opening up New Opportunities for Businesses

We have developed several SaaS (Software as a Service) applications for clients in the past and are currently working on our own SaaS project, so it feels like a good time to go into more detail about this burgeoning area of web development.

What is SaaS?
SaaS is where a service provider gives users access to software - such as Google Docs or Basecamp - through their browser. The user does not need to worry about the process of installing software and  the provider supplies an easy-to-use interface as well as hosting.

The service can be as simple as file storage, such as is provided by Flickr or Dropbox, or providers can offer software for entire e-commerce sites (e.g. Shopify) and CRMs (e.g. Highrise). These SaaS applications tend to be made available for a monthly fee, so that the provider generates income through subscriptions. Alternately, some SaaS providers take a mark-up from the sales.

Pros and Cons of SaaS
As an SaaS end user, the advantages are obvious: you gain access to a high level of functionality; you enjoy the support services of the provider; you can access it from any operating system, as it can be reached by any browser; and you don't have to deal with upgrading the software, as this will happen automatically.

You are also spared the up-front expense of buying software. This is particularly appealing for small businesses, where the monthly fee may be preferable to a large up-front payment.

SaaS in general is a good bet for start-ups and SMEs, as it offers them the chance to use software more advanced than they would usually be able to afford, without it taking up a lot of expensive server space. Indeed, with the global recession fresh in everyone's minds and IT capital budgets still very tight, large organizations are also beginning to use SaaS and to take advantage of the subscription based model.

However, using SaaS does mean that you are dependent on the provider, which in turn means that you are vulnerable if your provider suffers from a system failure or a security breach, or even physical damage.

This comes down to the trust which has to exist between the user and provider, but you can reduce the risk of losing all your data by taking basic precautions against unauthorised access and making regular back-ups.

Is SaaS for you?
The internet service provider Easynet Connect claims that more than half of small and medium enterprises will start to use The Cloud in their businesses in 2010. This shows that businesses are becoming more trusting and open to the opportunities that the internet has to offer. This in return is translating into an increasing uptake of SaaS by UK businesses, as reported by Information Age.

Whether you will be one of early adopters of SaaS depends on the size and nature of your business: if it is new and small, you will probably appreciate the monthly fee as opposed to a large up-front payment, while if you need to access your work from many different places the flexibility of using SaaS will suit you very well.

On the other hand, if your company is large and has a substantial IT budget and in-house resources, you may prefer the autonomy of actually owning everything.

If you feel that using SaaS could benefit your business, there is no reason why you shouldn't try it out. The risks can be kept to a minimum with the right precautions and you don't even have to run your entire business with SaaS. SaaS can be adopted to great effect just in a few areas of your business, so you should definitely investigate all the possibilities before committing to buying expensive enterprise software, especially for the non-critical areas of your business.

 

Bit Zesty - SaaS software development with Ruby on Rails

How to Get the Most Value out of Web Development

Increasingly, clients wanting an application built on a tight budget are drawing up extravagant feature lists which are incompatible with the amount they are prepared to pay. This tension between the client's budget and needs can lead to dissatisfaction with the end product or conflict with the development team. However, it doesn't always have to end in deadlock.

One way to overcome the issue is by building and releasing the application in stages. This method suits clients with a limited cash flow and has the additional advantage of allowing you to get user feedback quickly. This information can then be used to help you decide which features you need to build next.

Yet sometimes there's simply no need to shell out for a fully bespoke system, particularly when there are viable off-the-shelf solutions available at a fraction of the cost. But what do you do if an off-the-shelf system doesn't quite fit your needs and a fully bespoke one is out of budget? I see three options:

Open Source
Customizing an existing open source application (if one is available) will cost considerably less than a bespoke system, as you only need to pay for the new features.

API Extensions / Plug-ins / Widgets
It is possible to build bespoke applications which use third party APIs, a good compromise which not only saves on development time but also provides the client with a more feature-complete solution. For example, MailChimp can be added for email marketing, Intense Debate or Disqus for commenting, and Get Satisfaction or Zendesk for support and help-desk functionality.

Application Platforms
If you use an existing paid application platform, it may sometimes be possible to extend it with existing plug-ins or develop your own one to suit your needs. For example, Shopify allows users to customize their e-commerce sites with a range of additional apps, as well as giving option for developers to build custom features.

People beginning online business ventures rarely have money to spare, so there is no point in pushing the boat out on bespoke applications when the same results can be achieved for much less. The existence of open source applications, plug-ins and API extensions on the internet is a gift to clients on a tight budget, and it should be exploited accordingly.

 

Bit Zesty - Ruby on Rails app development London