SaaS development Archives

How to Choose a Tech Stack for AI-Driven SaaS Development

Posted on February 23, 2023March 2, 2023 by mkoftielieva

AI-driven SaaS development is one of the best investments ever because this tech trend is scorching hot. According to SpendDesk research, an average public SaaS company is now worth around $27 billion. Moreover, it’s estimated that 85% of all business applications will be SaaS-based by 2025. Undoubtedly, in a couple more years, software as a service will replace all other types.

If you need more motivation to invest in SaaS platform development, consider the following numbers:

Gartner estimates that cloud spending will amount to 45% of all enterprise IT spending by 2026.
The SaaS industry value is over $172 billion and constantly growing, says Exploding Topics.
Private European investment in SaaS is growing by 3.2, year over year, claims Paddle. However, the US remains the leader among SaaS companies and investors.

This list could go on, but there is only one conclusion, SaaS development services are gold right now. So, it pays to get onto that train as soon as possible.

If you decide to use this incredible opportunity and create a SaaS product, you need to look for a company with a tech stack for it. In case this is your first time, here are a few tips on choosing a tech stack for AI-driven SaaS development. We’ll also suggest the best technologies for these projects.

What to Consider When Choosing a Tech Stack for AI-Driven SaaS Development?

First of all, you must understand what drives the choice of a tech stack for any software development project. Five crucial factors will dictate your decision regarding technologies.

Scalability.
Modern technology changes extremely fast, and your project will grow fast as well if it’s successful. Therefore, you must choose systems that allow continuous evolution and growth and integrate new features with minimal disruption.
Time-to-market.
How fast can you release the product on the market? The answer is always as quickly as possible’. Even if it’s not the final version, the product should start making money and pay for itself early. In addition, launching an MVP will provide you with invaluable user feedback. Use it to make improvements in later product versions. However, remember that it will grow and change constantly.
Learning curve.
It might happen that you need to change developers after launching your product. Therefore, you should consider the learning curve of the technology used for it. Think about how much time the new team will need to understand the project and start doing their job. Moreover, the tech stack will determine how hard it is for you even to find a new team. So, it’s always best to use widespread technologies.
Code maintainability.
Think long-term and consider how your code can be maintained over time. For this, you need to consider whether the programming language you choose has an active community with strong support. In addition, make sure that code isn’t overly complicated. Again, this will become necessary if you need to change your AI-driven SaaS development company.
Support.
Future product support is another thing to take into account when planning long-term. Overall, it’s best to choose technologies that have existed for a while and remain strong.

AI-Driven SaaS Development Tech Stack: Best Back-End Choices

The basis of your entire AI SaaS product starts with back-end development. It’s the foundation of your application, so you must ensure it’s as strong as possible. Therefore, no matter how innovative your AI-driven SaaS development idea is, it’s best to build the foundation on time-tested reliable technologies.

The best SaaS development choices for back-end tech include:

.NET (C#)
Node.js
PHP
Python

Each choice will enable you to create a reliable and adaptable application. Moreover, these technologies are quite popular. Therefore, you shouldn’t have any issues changing developers or adding new people to your team as the product grows.

Speaking of growth, all these technologies allow for efficient scalability. So you’ll be able to improve and add new features fast.

There is no single best choice among these programming languages. This particular decision should be based on your product’s functionality and budget. Discuss this matter with experienced developers as they can advise on which choice will benefit the project most.

Best Front-End Technologies for SaaS Platform Development

JavaScript reigns supreme when it comes to AI-driven SaaS development. It’s hard to believe, but less than five years ago, about 95% of all websites used JavaScript. Therefore, there is no better choice for your SaaS development in the front-end department. In fact, one of the top back-end options we mentioned above is Node.js, a JavaScript runtime environment for back-end development.

In regards to the front-end department, the best choices are all JavaSript frameworks:

React
Angular
Vue.js

You’ll need to get expert opinions and think long-term when choosing between them. It’s essential to have some idea of the changes you wish to implement to expand the product in the future. These technologies vary in flexibility, and adding specific features down the line might be more challenging for some of them. So, plan your moves ahead and think big. Even if you never implement the changes you plan at the beginning, you’ll be sure there is room for them.

Remember that rewriting your product in a new language later can be prohibitively expensive. Moreover, it might take you off the market for a while.

Start Your AI-Driven SaaS Development Project Right Now!

As you can see, the whole process of choosing a tech stack for AI-driven SaaS development seems a straightforward process. The best choices are indeed few, and they are well-known. It means you can easily research every programming language and framework to learn its strengths and weaknesses.

However, making the actual choice isn’t that easy. This decision can have a massive impact on your project’s success. Therefore, you must consider it very carefully.

It would be best to consult an experienced SaaS development company first. Find people you can trust and explain your ideas to them. If your research led you to something, share this with the developers. For example, you can say why you think .NET is the best choice compared to Node.js. Then, let experienced developers share their ‘insider knowledge’ of the framework. These negotiations should result in you making the best possible choice for your future project.

Want to see how this works? Schedule a free consultation with our team right now!

Devtorium has years of experience in SaaS products for various industries. Moreover, we’ve recently launched our own AI-powered SaaS platform, Marquètte, used for content generation. As a result, we can analyze your idea and devise several plans to bring it to life, considering your budget and long-term goals.

No-Code/Low-Code: Origins

Posted on August 31, 2022August 31, 2023 by mkoftielieva

We live in the no-code/low-code technologies era. But to understand how big an impact this truly makes on the development of humankind, it’s crucial to see where it all started. In this article, we’ll share some history of coding evolution and its impact on the technological capabilities of our civilization.

First No-Code/Low-Code Technologies

No-code and low-code technologies are visual-based programming approaches that make coding available to a broader range of specialists. In essence, using this technology, you don’t have to be a skilled developer yourself. You can use the visual interface to build solutions, much like LEGO blocks. This approach is getting extremely popular now. It’s because global digitalization boosts the demand for customized apps that can be used for anything from sorting one’s emails to managing a smart home.

The term low-code was introduced only in 2016. But the technology had been in development for decades prior. In fact, the first technologies that evolved into the low-code of today appeared back in the 1970-1990s as a part of 4the Generation Programming Language and Rapid Application Development.

It might surprise many, but the first no-code platform was Microsoft Excel, released in 1985. It was working with spreadsheets that became the origin of technology that’s revolutionizing our world today.

The development of this tech was pushed forward by cloud computing in 1997 and Salesforce in 2000. Salesforce proclaimed the rise of SaaS and boldly stated that it’s now the end of history for traditional software development.

From then on, it was:

2006 Formstack.
The first no-code form builder by Ade Olonoh.
2006 Shopify.
The launch of a no-code eCommerce platform that is currently valued at around $37 billion.
2007 iPhone.
The launch of the first iPhone triggered the rise of mobile app builders.
2012 Bubble.
Launch of the first no-code web development platform.
2013 Webflow.
The first platform that allows for 100% no-code creation of websites and apps.
2018 Microsoft Power Platform.
PowerBI, Flow, and PowerApps become a part of the platform that grants better connectivity with minimum coding requirements.

CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering)

Let’s take a look at how the no-code/low-code approaches evolved. The very first technology using these methodologies was CASE, Computer-Aided Software Engineering. As the name states, this technology implies using computers to facilitate software development. It’s applied to increase quality and reduce the number of bugs.

CASE is a checkpointed approach that helps everyone involved in the project to observe its development milestones. Moreover, it’s used for storing project-related documentation. CASE is an excellent labor-saver, and it helps keep the project organized and increases team productivity.

As of today, this approach is considered outdated because there are more efficient technologies available. However, CASE made a valuable contribution to software development evolution.

CMS (Content Management System)

No-code/low-code approaches are widely used in CMS today. However, due to the versatility of content management systems, applications of these approaches and full code can be used in different combinations. We’ll list some of the best examples.

WordPress.
WP is a monolithic CMS that allows for low-code or completely no-code use from the front-end side of website development. You can literally set up a website using nothing but templates and have zero coding knowledge. Meanwhile, you can take it further by adjusting the PHP and CSS files. Therefore, you can apply the low-code approach.
Joomla.
Joomla comes in second in popularity after WordPress, though it’s dwindling these days. It also offers lots of flexibility for no-code/low-code work. The framework is very user-friendly, so many businesses choose it to enable specialists to do immediate content work.
Shopify.
Visual site builders relying on no-code/low-code technology became extremely popular with the rise of eCommerce. Shopify and similar eCommerce platforms allow launching a store within a day max. Shopify is very flexible regarding the low-code approach as it enables devs to customize the store. Therefore, it effectively resolves the issue of the limited visual branding, which is a problem for no-code platforms that only accept a small number of presets.
Wix.
Wix isn’t exactly a CMS but a visual website builder. It’s one of the trendiest tools of this kind today, which isn’t a surprise. Using Wix requires no coding knowledge whatsoever. You can create websites extremely fast using a wide range of templates for any feature you need.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Application of no-code/low-code approaches allowed to take customer service as a whole to a new level. Customer relationship management systems handle aggregating, processing, and monitoring leads and customers. One can also use them for generating a variety of reports that can have a huge impact on business development.

No-code and low-code technologies make it possible for businesses to handle these tasks with minimal developer involvement. On the other hand, developers can focus on more important tasks and automate customer management for more efficient operation. When used well, these systems can collect and process vast amounts of data from all website interactions and produce valuable insights.

RAD (Rapid Application Development)

You could say that low-code, as we know it today, is a subset of RAD. Rapid Application Development platforms date back to 1991, and some of them evolved into the low-code platforms of today.

All in all, RAD is a part of the technology’s past. Meanwhile, low-code is what’s trending at present. However, RAD is still used occasionally. In particular, RAD is applied in projects that require integrating complex and highly specific business approaches with the UX-first approach.

For example, solutions that would benefit from the RAD approach include features like:

SaaS cloud monetization;
Multi-tenancy;
Developing a single code for cloud, mobile, on-premise, and web apps;
Establishing complex business rules;
No vendor lock-in.

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

In a way, ERP is a more evolved and enterprise-oriented type of CRM. However, instead of managing customer data and information about their interactions with the business, ERP manages business processes and resources. The purpose of ERP solutions is to plan the most efficient use of resources to improve the overall efficiency and economy of the client-enterprise.

In the best-case scenario, a business should use both CRM and ERP software to enable the highest productivity and efficiency. In this context, no-code/low-code approaches allow the creation of solutions that one can adapt to unique business needs. Therefore, they help achieve the best possible results.

ERP development is where low-code technologies are developing most rapidly today due to high demand. As global markets enter a crisis and competition becomes fiercer, businesses have no choice but to seek maximum process optimization. No-code/low-code technologies provide them with solutions that can constantly achieve that result and improve.

Differences Between No-Code, Low-Code, and Pro-Code

To put it plainly, the difference between no-code, low-code, and pro-code approaches is the level of professional developer knowledge one needs to have to build applications.

With no-code, anyone can create an app even without any specialized knowledge. Low-code approach is more varied and requires some knowledge. It’s best suited for IT professionals or power users who need assistance from the machine to speed up, simplify, and automate processes. Pro-code, as the name suggests, is restricted to professional developers who can write the entirety of code from scratch.

From the app creation point of view, it looks like this:

No-code.
Anyone can use the platform app builder to create a basic app using the ‘blocks’ afforded by the solution. No coding is necessary as the process is more like working with LEGO. Most no-code platforms have a simple drag-and-drop menu and can cater to a wide range of businesses.
Low-code.
Low-code technologies allow customizing existing apps using scripts. You must have a decent understanding of coding. However, it’s rather low-level, so even non-professionals with some coding knowledge can do it. You can also study plenty of helpful guides and other materials online.
Pro-code.
There are but a few things pro-coders cannot do. Regarding apps, they usually work on expanding their functionality through plugins. However, being total pro developers, depending on specialization, they can build an app from scratch.

It’s important to note that low-code and pro-code development aren’t mutually exclusive. It means that pros can use the low-code approach in some of their projects. In fact, this can help boost their overall efficiency and productivity.

No-Code/Low-Code Applications Today

Applications of no-code/low-code approaches are extremely versatile today. This technology helps strengthen enterprises, enhance smaller businesses, and open new opportunities for everyone.

Here are some examples:

Web-based portals for customers.
Web-based portals are perfectly suited for customers as they enable them to handle many routine tasks. For example, searching for services, getting quotes, making payments, etc. Low-code allows businesses to launch such portals fast. Therefore, they can enhance customer experience and keep improving it continuously.
B2C mobile apps.
Another way to enhance customer experience and satisfaction is by launching mobile apps. Again, low-code technology here allows to speed up the creation of such apps. Moreover, these mobile apps must be highly customizable. Therefore, a business can build a perfect match for its customers.
Core systems.
No-code/low-code technologies offer an alternative to the traditional approaches of either buying a commercial core system or rebuilding the legacy one. The low-code alternative is more cost-efficient and flexible. It uses collaborative agile methodology applied to the application lifecycle. Cloud-native apps built on low-code portals are easily portable and can scale and ensure maximum uptime.
Monoliths to microservices transformation.
Monolithic and microservices architectures both have pros and cons. However, microservices clearly are more popular now. Therefore, the number of enterprises switching to this type is increasing. Realistically, breaking down a monolith into microservices is hard and expensive. Low-code portals facilitate this task. Businesses can use them to launch microservices apps and functionalities. Essentially, today one can use APIs to ‘redevelop’ the architecture.
SaaS development.
Building SaaS products can be challenging and risky. But with low-code platforms, the process becomes cheaper and faster. So, you can create, test, and roll out an app fast and see how it performs to plan future business strategies.
IoT-enabled apps.
IoT solutions increase operational efficiency, but they are complex. No-code/low-code approaches allow easy integration with existing IoT platforms and the development of cost-efficient smart apps.

Presented by Viktor Kalinichenko, Devtorium No-Code/Low-Code Expert

According to Forrester surveys, about 75% of development shops are already adopting no-code/low-code technology or plan to do so. Considering the benefits and cost-savings it offers, this trend will only grow. We are already witnessing an unprecedented rise in low-code use, primarily among developers.

Here at Devtorium, we have it on good authority that no-code/low-code is the future that’s already happening. Our expert on this technology is Viktor Kalinichenko, who has worked in the IT industry since 1999. For over two decades now, Viktor has been watching technological approaches come and go. He used all the options listed above himself. Now he firmly believes that low-code is here to stay for a while. According to his expert opinion, it’s because the technology allows delivering top-grade results fast. Therefore, clients seeking to succeed in competitive markets are creating great demand. And compared to previous computer-assisted development technologies, no-code/low-code portals of today truly get the job done.

To those who wish to study this technology, Viktor recommends starting with something simple and popular, for example, Bubble or WebFlow, which you could learn using Bubble Academy or WebFlow university courses. The community there is also an excellent pointer to valuable materials on the subject. In addition, he says that all you need to jump into the no-code/low-code is to know how to use a mouse and have some business analytics skills. He promises to explain this in more detail in our upcoming articles that will focus on our own no-code/low-code developments and detailed studies of existing solutions.

See you soon in our future posts😉!

Your Intelligent Assistant: AI-Powered Platform Marquètte

Posted on August 19, 2022August 31, 2023 by mkoftielieva

Devtorium is a software development company that not only outsources its services but also creates proprietary software. One of our products is Marquètte, an AI-powered platform used for content generation. We’ve worked on this product for over a year and released the MVP in April 2022.

We are proud to share that an enhanced version of Marquètte is available to users! Moreover, it still comes with a 7-Day Free Trial that enables anyone to sign up and test the full power of AI content generation.

The purpose of Marquètte is to become an intelligent assistant for content writers, marketing specialists, and small business owners who want to improve theory content marketing. As your personal assistant in this quest, Marquètte does not only generate content. This AI-powered platform also offers a broad view of the industry trends and provides insights that can inspire you.

One of the biggest challenges of content creation is that you just don’t know what to write about. With Marquètte, you’ll get multiple ideas just by seeing your Account home page.

Using the product is extremely simple:

Sign up.
You don’t have to provide your credit card information. Just sign up anytime and test the SaaS platform for free.
Ask your questions.
You can ask the AI about anything and it will generate an answer using its massive databases.
Use the answer!
You can use Marquètte answers as blog posts, as answers on forums, as posts on your social media accounts, and even as part of general topic research.

Latest Marquètte AI-Powered Platform Updates

The part of the Devtorium Team working on Marquètte keeps improving it. Here’s what they came up with during the last update.

Improved design.
Our AI-powered platform looks even prettier now. Seriously, just check it out. Our designers are incredible, and they improve user experience as well as aesthetics.
‘Ask a question’ page.
Users have a dedicated form to ask the engine a question. It has easy prompts that will guide you.
Interactive question validation.
Note that some questions might be rejected. For example, if your question concerns politics, contains swearwords, or can be interpreted as extremist, the AI will block it. We have a preliminary validation system that will alert you if you need to do some editing.
Easy feedback.
More freedom to the users! We love that you can help us make Marquètte better. Do it by clicking the emoji to express what you think about the quality of the answer.
Updated notifications.
Our AI-powered platform communicates with users via emails, which we recently updated to ensure they serve a broader range of scenarios.
Contact Us page.
We added a separate Contact Us page that contains a form you can fill out and a way to schedule a meeting with a team expert.
New video.
Check out a new video introduction of Marquètte!
Buy Credits.
After your first set of credits expires, you can buy more to keep using Marquètte without the need to re-subscribe.
Subscription auto-renewal.
Using Marquètte is even easier now because you can automate the subscription and it will renew every month. Furthermore, you can disable this feature in a few clicks if needed.
Popular Questions.
More inspiration for Marquètte users! There is now a Popular Questions section showing the most trending question topics.

Marquètte Applications as an AI Content Generation Platform

Marquètte is the first SaaS platform developed by Devtorium. Driven by machine learning, it keeps getting better with every use. Moreover, people appreciate the answers it gives, which we can see from Quora, where Marquètte already has hundreds of upvotes and authority as a trusted source of information.

Check out yourself by evaluating a Marquètte-generated answer:

What are the top ten pitfalls in doing business in China?

Lack of understanding of the Chinese market: Many foreign companies enter the Chinese market without a clear understanding of the consumer landscape and preferences. As a result, they are unable to tailor their products and services to meet the needs of Chinese consumers, leading to poor sales and ultimately, failure.
Lack of local partnerships: In China, it is essential to have local partners who can help you navigate the often-complex business landscape. Without these partnerships, foreign companies are at a significant disadvantage.
Poorly executed market entry strategy: Many foreign companies make the mistake of trying to enter the Chinese market without a well-thought-out plan. This often leads to wasted resources and ultimately, failure.
Lack of understanding of the Chinese legal system: The Chinese legal system is vastly different from that of the West and many foreign companies are not familiar with it. This lack of understanding can lead to problems such as intellectual property theft and contract disputes.
Lack of understanding of the Chinese culture: The Chinese culture is very different from that of the West and many foreign companies are not familiar with it. This lack of understanding can lead to problems such as miscommunication and cultural misunderstandings.
Lack of a dedicated China team: Many foreign companies try to enter the Chinese market without setting up a dedicated team to manage their operations there. This often leads to problems such as poor coordination and communication.
Over-reliance on expatriates: Many foreign companies entering the Chinese market rely too heavily on expatriates to manage their operations. This often leads to problems such as high turnover and difficulty adapting to the local culture.
Inadequate preparation.

Future Plans for the AI-Powered Platform Marquètte

We are all futurists at Devtorium, so we have many ideas for the future of Marquètte. Right now, we are working on enhancements that will diversify the AI content generation and ‘teach’ AI to create texts based on different templates.

The next version of the product will become even more useful for content writers, marketers, and SMBs. You can follow the track of Marquètte’s development and growth through our social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram!

How to Use an AI SaaS Platform for Business?

Posted on January 19, 2022August 31, 2023 by mkoftielieva

An AI SaaS platform is a way for businesses and developers to access artificial intelligence without huge risks and investments. Also referred to as AIaaS, this type of software as a service enables businesses to achieve various goals using the immense power of AI.

Combining custom SaaS development services with an AI-powered platform opens an infinite number of opportunities for a company. You can reduce costs, boost your marketing, improve various processes and workflows, and automate multiple tasks. And the best thing is that as AI grows, the same happens to its capabilities. So, the more you use an AIaaS platform, the more this technology would be able to do for you.

How to Use an AI SaaS Platform in Real Life

Chatbots & Virtual Assistants

The most popular type of an AI SaaS platform is chatbots. Nowadays, they are used in nearly every area of customer service. Businesses also often create chatbots for communication and education within the company. Bots that run on NLP algorithms and machine learning are an area of AI that’s developing extremely fast. So, they grow more sophisticated every day. Therefore, the extent of the services they can provide keeps increasing.

This technology is also used to create virtual assistants that can perform multiple jobs. Their applications range from providing basic health consultations to personalized education.

API (Application Programming Interfaces)

Cognitive computing application programming interfaces enable developers to include various features in their apps. The important benefit of APIs is that the developer doesn’t need to actually write out the entire code. As such, APIs have a big impact on AI-driven software development services and cut costs for customers by saving developers time.

APIs are most often used for:

Knowledge mapping
Sentiment analysis (a crucial feature for using AI in marketing)
NLP and multiple languages translations
Computer speech
Computer vision
Search

ML Frameworks

ML, or machine learning, frameworks enable the use of an AI SaaS platform for making personalized AIs. This particular AI will learn by processing the business’ data over time. Therefore, it would be perfectly suited for handling custom tasks within the company.

It’s a way for a business to use the power of AI without relying on Big Data. It’s also an opportunity to make the most out of custom SaaS development services for a business. So, if you consider making an AIaaS platform of your own, this is where you might wish to start.

Benefits of Using an AI SaaS Platform

Applications of an AI SaaS platform vary greatly. However, no matter how you use it exactly, it would bring some important boons to your business.

Low-cost access to AI capabilities.
AI technology is insanely powerful but also very costly. An average SME has no chance of building a top-grade AI platform from scratch. However, a ready-to-use AIaaS allows you to enjoy all the benefits of an AI-powered platform for a fraction of a cost. So, even a small business can increase its growth opportunities by using AI tech creatively.

Easy scalability.
AI SaaS development services are flexible in a way that means that you can get more power/features/bandwidth immediately when needed. It means that as your business starts growing with the help of AIaaS, it will scale along with you to constantly provide greater benefits.

Flexible costs.
With an AI SaaS platform, you pay exactly for what you use. Therefore, a business can regulate its costs exactly to get the highest value for money. It also means that you have a chance to increase your capabilities fast as an opportunity presents itself. Note that some AIaaS platforms will even allow you to use processing power for short periods of time on an ad hoc basis.

Higher usability compared to open-source AI.
There are open-source AI available, so you might wonder why pay more for an AI SaaS platform. The answer is that the platform is an out-of-the-box solution you can use for your intended purposes right away. On the other hand, using open-source AI will require you to hire a team of developers to create a solution that actually does what you need. Therefore, an AIaaS is more cost-efficient in the long run.

In Conclusion: When You Should Use AI SaaS Development Services

There can be no doubt that using an AI SaaS platform can benefit a business. However, you also need to understand that this technology has some inherent weaknesses. First of all, there is a security risk because you are giving third-party software access to your data.

In addition, you can’t expect transparency when working with AIaaS. You only get to see the input and output of the information. So, you won’t be able to know and even understand how that information is processed, etc.

Furthermore, some industry standards might prohibit you from using an AI SaaS platform altogether because of data security regulations. You’ll have to research all requirements for your industry in detail, especially if your business deals with sensitive information.

All things considered, custom AI SaaS development services might be the only choice for some types of businesses. Therefore, in order to get the highest value from AIaaS technology, you need to find out how to implement it in your business. Then, learn what options are available to you and how to use them with maximum efficiency. Contact us anytime and learn more about creating AI SaaS solutions perfectly tailored to your business needs!

Hiring a SaaS Development Company: All You Need to Know

Posted on November 10, 2021August 30, 2023 by mkoftielieva

Hiring a SaaS development company might be the most important decision in the entirety of your business career. The reason is that making a mistake with this team could ruin any chances of success you have. Your idea might be exceptional and your budget might be unlimited. But if you go wrong with developers, none of it will matter.

So, it’s vitally important to know how to choose the best SaaS software development company. In fact, first, you need to understand exactly what makes this company ‘the best’. Read on and find out.

Why Hire a SaaS Development Company?

Custom software development for small business is always a good idea because it helps boost business productivity and cut costs. SaaS software development services can benefit your company greatly for similar reasons. But the usefulness of software as a service goes beyond that. First and foremost, this type of software product development is beneficial to the end-user. It means that if your business is planning to sell this product instead of using it internally, you can get a competitive advantage in the market.

The main reasons why investing in the services of a SaaS development company is suitable for your business include:

SaaS products are cheaper

It’s a simple truth. SaaS software p[eroduct development is cheaper for everyone. For those who order the product, the development itself is more affordable, and so is the software license. As the solution is hosted on third-party hardware, the overall cost is going further down.

Of course, there is also a matter of the product’s complexity. When hiring a SaaS development company, you can start small. It means that at the initial launch, your product can have only a few features. Then, as it starts making money, you can employ SaaS development consulting services to improve it. Adding more features as you can afford it will make the product more cost-efficient in the long run.

You also need to remember that SaaS software products are more affordable for users. It means that it’ll be easier for you to sell them. In addition, people don’t need to have expensive hardware to run these solutions. Therefore, your target audience can expand significantly.

SaaS products are highly accessible and easy to distribute

Speaking of accessibility. With SaaS products, you can take advantage of globalization right away. Simply put, there will be able to distribute your solution worldwide with minimal effort. So, you’ll be able to target multiple markets, thus increasing your chance of success.

Sometimes, you’ll need to invest in localization or at least content translation. However, your SaaS development company might be able to help you with this and create a multilingual product. Furthermore, it means that you’ll have a headstart on the market due to your international outreach.

Another advantage of the SaaS online distribution model is that you can make good use of tiered subscriptions. This pricing model can be highly beneficial for small businesses. Especially if you plan to add more features to the product later on. Those extra features can be rolled out to your Premium subscribers first. Also, you can launch various polls and questionnaires among these subscribers to find out what features people are most interested in. This will greatly supplement the data from your SaaS development consulting company.

Your business is 100% scalable

Scalability is the name of the game today. The best thing about SaaS software development is that it enables you to build a business that’s easy to scale. In essence, the SaaS business model is scalable by default.

It’s vitally important for any startup that wants to take over the world by storm. So, this type of software development is the best way to realize an innovative app idea. Moreover, it’s a great business model to choose if you want to launch several products simultaneously. SaaS software development flexibility allows you a lot of freedom to create products users really need. And you can update and change them based on the audience’s response through comments and reviews.

What Can Go Wrong When Hiring a SaaS Development Company?

The worst thing that can happen when hiring a software development company is choosing developers not qualified to do the job. Please note that they can be superb quality professionals in some specific type of development. However, if they aren’t experts in creating SaaS products in particular, there’s a high risk of your entire project failing.

It’s because, for all their benefits, SaaS software products do have some weaknesses. And it’s essential to understand them so that you can work around them and create a reliable and secure product. The best way to achieve this is to start by talking to a SaaS development consulting company. These are people who specialize in SaaS and business analysis. Therefore, they are able to explain both strengths and weaknesses your future app might have.

The main things to look out for with SaaS software development services are:

Security

A trustworthy SaaS development company must guarantee that your product will comply with all SaaS security standards. In fact, these professionals should go a step beyond and make sure your app is safe from all current cybersecurity threats. Moreover, they need to stay aware of these threats and improve your app with regular updates to increase its security level.

Note that SaaS software products are more vulnerable to attacks due to the fact that they are hosted separately. Also, their design sometimes compromises top security features to make the product accessible.

Therefore, it’s vitally important to find a SaaS development company with expertise in securing SaaS products. Check the certifications of their cybersecurity professionals. Top certificates in this area today are:

CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)
CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)
NCSF (NIST Cybersecurity Framework)
CHFI (Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator)
CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional)
CCSP (Certified Cloud Security Professional)
CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor)

Third-party payment systems

Integrating third-party products into a SaaS platform triples security risks by default. The matter becomes even more severe when this third-party software is a payment system. Talk to your SaaS development consulting professionals about these systems and how you will monetize your product.

If you need to add a payment system, discuss whether it’s safer to use an existing payment solution or develop your own. In some businesses and in some countries, the selection of payment processing operators might be limited. In this case, you’ll have no choice but to use one of the existing options. Therefore, a SaaS development company must have experience with this particular system. Moreover, the product must be developed with this particular integration in mind.

In addition, if your goal is to scale fast and go international, you might need to integrate additional payment providers. Discuss this with your SaaS development company to create the most efficient strategy.

System availability

Your SaaS development company must be able to ensure that the system doesn’t go offline with every update. Zero downtime deployment is vitally essential for SaaS software products that require frequent releases of new improved versions. There are some techniques that developers can use in order to minimize inconveniences to the platform’s users. You need to think through this strategy at the product development stage. It’s because such a system is a long-term project. Therefore, you must release it with optimal parameters for future updates.

However, bear in mind that zero-downtime deployment technologies will be more expensive. So you need to plan your budget very carefully.

SaaS Development Company: Best Practices

In order to provide top-quality SaaS development services, the company you hire must employ a set of specific practices. They will ensure that the software engineers and solution architects can overcome any challenges associated with the creation and launch of SaaS platforms. Moreover, adherence to the following principles will guarantee that the solution you get performs at maximum efficiency.

Developing an appropriate SaaS architecture

Designing the right architecture is crucially important to ensure a SaaS product runs smoothly and efficiently. Expert opinions differ on whether SaaS software development should be based on monolithic or microservices architecture. There are pretty solid arguments for and against both options. Therefore, it’s vital to find a SaaS development company that will be able to create the best plan for you.

Monolithic architecture is stable, which is vital for SaaS platforms. However, it’s all a vast codebase, meaning that any changes to the solution will require changing the entire thing. It’s time-consuming, complicated, and risky. However, in a big way, this disadvantage of monolithic architecture for SaaS can be offset by developing a layered architecture. In this case, ‘layers’ of code add flexibility for further improvements.

Microservices architecture is much more flexible by default because it consists of multiple components. Therefore, it’s an excellent option for highly complex SaaS solutions. But it also has drawbacks, in particular, it’s tough to manage. So, a SaaS development company that works with microservices architecture must prove that it’s capable of doing it well. Check out case studies and developers’ portfolios as proof of experience.

Also, note that the solution architect on your SaaS development project must be highly qualified and experienced. Moreover, it must have experience with this specific type of software. This expertise is necessary to make the best decisions for your product after assessing all the factors.

Setting up a CI/CD pipeline

The DevOps team of your SaaS development company must be just as experienced with this type of project. These people must ensure that your future platform is built with an integrated CI/CD pipeline.

It’s necessary to ensure that your SaaS product can be easily updated later on. The DevOps team working on your project will focus on continuous improvements and upgrades of every process. And in order to do that, the system must be designed to accommodate any of these future changes.

The entire development lifecycle of a SaaS product needs close monitoring. Therefore, CI/CD is essential to bring together the development and operation activities.

Fighting latency with CDN

Using CDN (content delivery network) during SaaS software product development helps fight latency, a problem of many SaaS platforms. It’s a highly important issue for anyone who wants to go global with the SaaS business.

CDNs, like CloudFront from Amazon, can be used to ensure that users from different countries can access all the materials within your app without suffering from latency. It means that the CDN makes the physical location of the servers irrelevant.

In order to make the most of this technology, you need a SaaS development company experienced in using CDN. So, be sure to ask what the developers plan to do in order to fight latency.

Conducting a security compliance audit

No matter how much effort you put into ensuring the security of your SaaS product, it could have more. Considering the fast-growing cybersecurity threats, you need to do everything possible to make your SaaS application safe. And your SaaS development company must understand this.

One crucial consideration during the development process is security standards compliance. If you don’t want your product to be banned, it must comply with all relevant regulations. Note that although there are international SaaS security standards, some countries have extras of their own. Therefore, it’s best to have a security audit of the application that takes all of these in mind.

You either need to hire a SaaS development and consulting provider with experts that can do this audit or hire an independent compliance expert. This might seem like too big an expense. However, it’s a must-have requirement for any SaaS business that wants to operate internationally.

What to Look for in a Provider of SaaS Software Development Services

Finding a trustworthy and experienced SaaS development company can be a challenge. As a client, you need to know exactly what to look for:

Expertise with all necessary tools and technologies

First and foremost is for the SaaS development team to have experience working with all technologies needed to create a superb SaaS platform. Go over the points listed above to see what the best practices of SaaS creation are. These are the things that your development team must know well.

Also, be sure to not only take their words for it. A trustworthy SaaS development & consulting provider must be able to back up their words with case studies. Take a look at what the company had already done and what certifications its developers and solution architects have. This way, you’ll make sure that they are adept in technologies needed to make your SaaS solutions outstanding.

Just to give you some idea, here is a list of technologies that are often used during SaaS software development:

CDN
NodeJS
.NET
Java
PHP
Angular
React
UI/UX design
AWS
Azure

This is not a complete list. However, it should give you a better perception of just how versatile the SaaS development company’s team has to be. In addition, do not forget that this team must include experienced DevOps and a top-grade solution architect.

Ability to provide streamlined agile processes

Your SaaS development company must be adept in agile software development. It’s because agile processes are far superior in cost-efficiency and productivity. Therefore, check if the company has certified PMs involved in your project.

In fact, a reliable company should tell you that they work on agile streamlined processes right away. It’s an essential advantage for software developers. Therefore, those who are accredited experts in it always make sure to include this information in their profile.

In order to provide the most efficient processes, your SaaS development team should include:

Solution architect (or several, depending on the complexity of your product)
DevOps experts
Front and back-end software developers
Project manager
QA testers

Do not forget about the importance of QA testing services for any software development project. Testers often don’t get enough credit for their work. However, without them, no solution will have a chance to succeed.

Bottom Line: Hire a SaaS Development Company You Can Trust

If you want to build a SaaS product, you need to hire a development company that is skilled and experienced in this type of projects. It’s essential to take your time exploring the options because this company will have a huge impact on your business’ success.

To find the best team, you should start with engaging SaaS development consulting services. At this stage, you’ll be able to understand what kind of services your SaaS creation team must provide.

Never forget that every SaaS product is unique. So, the development team can take several approaches to bring your ideas to life. It’s also important to understand that different companies might have different plans. They might all have strong and weak points. Therefore, you’ll need to do your own research to evaluate and compare various offers.

When searching for a SaaS development team, you should look for honesty and expertise. A team that can be trusted will openly share their credentials as well as case studies. Skilled developers are proud of their work and ready to back up their words with concrete evidence.

If this is the kind of SaaS development company you are looking for, contact us! Our expert solution architects, DevOps, and software engineers are ready to take on any challenge.

SaaS Development Services: How to Build a SaaS Product

Posted on October 13, 2021August 30, 2023 by mkoftielieva

Investing in SaaS development services can be the best decision of your life. For one, this is the most cost-efficient way to launch an application these days. Second, SaaS platforms are flexible and can be adapted to multiple industries. It means that the customer pool for your product can be all but endless.

Sounds interesting?

Keep reading to learn how SaaS software development can help achieve your business goals. And get inspired with ideas for your own product.

What Are SaaS Development Services and Who Needs Them?

SaaS software development has become extremely popular nowadays because it allows people to use great solutions regardless of their hardware power. SaaS is not some specific type of software in itself but a method of delivering apps to the user. The solution is hosted by the product owner or on the SaaS application development company’s servers. Therefore, the user doesn’t have to download and install anything on their own computer.

The user might need to install a client app to access the SaaS product from their PC or smartphone in some cases. However, these solutions are relatively simple and don’t have high hardware requirements.

The majority of SaaS applications can be accessed using a regular web browser. That’s why it’s often referred to as SaaS web development.

Because there are usually no hardware or software requirements for SaaS products everyone can use them. Therefore, SaaS development services are in demand for every type of software. So it doesn’t matter what your target industry is, developing a SaaS product is always a good idea.

In fact, you should research your niche and see what your competitors do. If they aren’t offering this type of service, you are already ahead by choosing it.

But remember, SaaS is a subscription service. So you’ll need to work on product improvements and marketing continuously. Your goal will be to retain the loyalty of your customers. For this, you’ll need to compete against newer and more innovative apps.

That said, SaaS application development can be extremely rewarding. But it’s also a continuous challenge that will require you to keep getting better.

Benefits of Using SaaS Development Services

The benefits of hiring a SaaS development company to bring your ideas to life are many. The most notable of them is that it’s sure to be lucrative because SaaS products have advantages that customers love. Better yet, these same advantages will benefit you as well as the users of your product.

The most important of them are:

SaaS development services are highly cost-efficient, and the product is affordable for the end-user. For you as a SaaS owner, the product will cost less compared to developing a top-grade solution that must be perfect and fully stacked at launch. In addition, SaaS software development is highly flexible. Therefore, you can launch a product with only a few essential features that you can afford now. Then, you’ll keep adding more and improving it as your revenue grows. Perhaps, you might even be able to develop a series of related products, like multiple Google Apps Services.
SaaS web development is faster. For you, it’s because developing a smaller product takes less time than creating a large multi-functional downloadable solution. For the user, SaaS products are great because they are quick to set up. In the majority of cases, one can start using this solution within a few minutes as there are no mandatory downloads or other time (and bandwidth) consuming tasks. However, do not forget that you must make the signup process as simple as possible. Otherwise, you risk losing users before they even try your product.
SaaS software development produces a highly accessible product. Of course, as a product owner, you will love this because your consumer base will be huge. But, on the other hand, users enjoy this particular perk because it enables them to access top-grade solutions regardless of how good their hardware is.

Business Perks of SaaS Development Services: Why Your App Can Bring Money

When building a successful business is your primary goal, a SaaS development company can become your greatest ally because:

SaaS products generate a regular stream of revenue.
That’s the primary and most important advantage of the SaaS business model. Subscriptions bring you revenue monthly. And if you roll out improvements regularly, this stream of income will keep growing.
SaaS application development allows you to create a secure product. It’ll be a major selling point for consumers today. For you as a business owner, ensuring the highest possible security level is a top priority. Remember that the year 2021 saw the cost of data breaches reach a shocking $4.24 million! This number is sure to keep rising with every passing year. So, invest in security improvements all the time. The fact that SaaS web development allows for constant improvement is another significant advantage. Due to this, you’ll be able to update cybersecurity features as soon as new threats pop up.
Flexible subscription plans make SaaS apps even more accessible. Therefore, you can reach a wider audience with the solution. Moreover, you can expand your customer base greatly by offering a free subscription. At this point, your app can generate revenue through advertisements.
Using the services of an experienced SaaS development company and good hosting will make your app very reliable. Obviously, the consumers will love this, thus increasing your number of subscriptions. However, the main advantage for you is that you won’t lose users in droves because of some basic bug or server failure. But note that you need to make sure the servers that host your app are distributed across the globe. This way, even if some server crashes, the solution won’t go down completely.

SaaS Software Development: Types of Apps

SaaS development services are flexible and versatile. Therefore, the apps created with them can be used for a variety of industries. If you are looking for inspiration for your product, the most popular applications of the SaaS model are:

eCommerce SaaS Application Development

SaaS development services for eCommerce are among the most complex and most popular. Essentially, eCommerce SaaS are solutions like Shopify, BigCommerce, and other top eCommerce platforms. These platforms enable the user to create and sometimes even host their own online store. As the online shopping niche is highly demanding, a platform like this will require a lot of features. Absolute must-haves are shipping and delivery tracking, payment processing, SEO, CRM, warehouse management, product management, and order processing.

If you consider eCommerce SaaS application development, be aware that it will require a significant investment. This niche is extremely competitive, and its leaders are giants that are nearly impossible to get close to.

Vertical SaaS Software Development

Vertical SaaS application development is a more promising niche for beginners. First, with this type of app, you’ll need to choose a niche. Then, create a product that will help improve business processes within it.

Such solutions are diverse, but all of them are focused on optimization. In this case, developing a highly specialized solution will be a benefit. It will enable you to offer the best possible result to the customer. Therefore, it makes sense to create a subscription plan that offers top-grade customization. Essentially, it means your SaaS development company will need to personalize the product to fit the needs of every customer.

CRM SaaS Applications

One of the top examples of a SaaS Customer Relationship Management system is HubSpot. This type of solution needs to integrate with a variety of systems in order to fit into business processes effectively.

If you want to apply your talents in SaaS development services to this niche, you’ll need to create a solution that automates marketing tasks. Note that CRM systems are an integral part of the sales process as well. Ultimately, the goal of this SaaS platform is to facilitate the business’ relationship with customers.

Nowadays, personalization is one of the main requirements by consumers in any industry. Therefore, advanced CRM systems that allow for detailed segmentation and targeting are in high demand.

Enterprise SaaS Development Services (ERP)

Enterprise SaaS software development is extremely versatile. It’s because enterprise requirements are enormous, and these companies often need unique custom-tailored products. For example, many big companies use SaaS development services to create ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software, like Oracle.

In order to be useful to such big customers, enterprise SaaS platforms need to have tremendous processing power. They also have to integrate easily with other popular management systems.

SaaS products for Collaboration

In the era of remote work and digital nomads, collaboration software is a highly lucrative niche. These SaaS platforms vary in functionality, for example, Asana and Miro. Such platforms aim to provide remote teams a space to connect, share, and track the progress of various tasks. Some of them will also have integrated messenger systems and video conferencing tools.

This niche is growing fast. However, it’s still a fantastic opportunity for your SaaS development services because the demand grows even faster. But to make a solution with a chance at success as collaborative SaaS, you have to do detailed market research. Find out what exactly is lacking in the most popular tools to create your unique selling proposition.

Project Management SaaS Solutions

Project management platforms are, in essence, a more ‘formal’ variation of collaborative SaaS software. Tools like Jira are essential for businesses today as they maximize the efficiency of remote teams.

Note that these tools can also be adapted for unique enterprise needs. Therefore, you have a lot of room for creativity with this type of SaaS web development.

SaaS Software Development for Billing

SaaS billing solutions are extremely popular with small and medium businesses. Tools like Zoho help these companies do their bookkeeping without hiring in-house accountants.

These tools are also highly useful for eCommerce. So, there are a lot of areas for you to target with such products. But bear in mind that this SaaS must be extremely secure and efficient as well as comply with legal requirements.

SaaS Development Services for Data Analytics

Some SaaS platforms take a completely different look at business optimization. For example, AI-based software like Marquètte can be used for data analytics. This platform processes vast blocks of data to provide a forecast or analysis of specific industries.

Companies can use this type of SaaS platform to predict trends and adjust their business and marketing plans. Big Data analytics is costly if you hire a specialized company for it. However, AI can make this service much more affordable. Therefore, such a platform enables small businesses to use the power of Big Data.

SaaS Application Development Process Explained

Market Analysis

The first thing to do before finalizing your app idea is to analyze the market. You have to determine two things:

What apps already exist in the niche (your competition)?
What are the features your target audience is most interested in?

Only armed with these answers can you come up with a concept that will have a chance to succeed. Your objective is to develop a unique selling proposition that will make you stand out from the competition. Moreover, you will get the ability to understand what it is that can offer value to your prospective customers.

Determine SaaS Requirements

This is more of an analysis step as well. The requirements you need to consider are consumer demands such as usability, UI/UX design, and security.

During this step, you’ve got to understand how to use SaaS development services to adapt to the ever-changing demands. You need to plan your platform to be flexible. Therefore, you must outline priority directions in which it will need to evolve.

Define the MVP

MVP, or a minimal viable product, is the core of your future SaaS solution. This is what you’ll take to developers or show investors. You need to define it in order to calculate the costs of SaaS development services.

To define your MVP, you have to answer questions like:

Who are your target customers?
What is their main problem that you are going to solve?
How are you going to solve this problem?
Can you offer several solutions?

Set the Pricing Model

SaaS software development relies on the subscription payment model. Therefore, you need to decide how exactly you are going to charge your customers for the use of the platform.

The most popular subscription payment plans are:

Flat rate: when you charge a set price for the product or sets of features.
Pay per feature.
Usage-based plan: when the user pays based on the time/amount of using the platform.
Freemium: when the user has a free basic subscription but pays for a broader set of premium features.
Pay per active user: when any active user pays a set amount.

Set Technical Requirements

At this stage, you have to consult a SaaS development company to outline the product’s technical requirements. But remember to keep in mind your target audience. Do your research to understand what devices they use most often.

Your platform’s technical requirements must aim to fit the most basic devices used by the consumers. It’ll ensure maximum accessibility.

Finalize the Budget

Now that you understand what it is that you need to make, you must finalize your budget. Then, evaluate your available funds and either start development or keep looking for investors.

As an option, consider investing in minimal SaaS development services. But build a business plan that will allow you to reinvest a large portion of revenue into further product development.

Also, consider that your budget must not only be limited to development costs. You also need to market your app. In addition, you need to set aside an emergency fund to deal with any possible issues or bugs.

Start Working with the Development Team

Finally, you’ve got to hire a trustworthy SaaS development company. It’s essential to find a team that has experience creating the type of SaaS products you want to make. Moreover, choose a company that has relevant certifications. Finally, you need to be sure that these people are experts in what they do.

However, personalities also matter when choosing a SaaS application development company. You should look for people you are comfortable with to discuss ideas and share your vision. Also, they must show a high level of professionalism and organization. That way, you can be sure that they will indeed be able to deliver top-quality results.

Lastly, look for a SaaS development company that employs multiple professionals with different specializations. You need to be sure that these people will be able to handle everything ‘in-house’. It’s crucial to avoid dispersing your product development across several contractors. Having everything done by one team will increase the quality of the final product.

SaaS development services providers vary greatly. Therefore, you’ve got to take your time and explore your options. Make sure that you are hiring a team you can trust completely.

In Conclusion: Is Hiring a SaaS Development Company Right for You?

Now is the time to invest in SaaS development services if you have a great app idea. In case you don’t have one yet, check out this post for inspiration.

The demand for high-quality software that helps automate and optimize various processes is huge now. Therefore, if you have an opportunity, you should consider entering this industry. SaaS software development, in particular, is a good business model due to its cost-efficiency and relatively low entry capital requirements.

If you have any questions regarding SaaS, creating your own product, or how much it will cost, contact us anytime! Devtorium offers SaaS development consulting services to all businesses and private entrepreneurs with ambitious ideas.