Cloud-based software has become the norm. Cloud-based applications or software is the worldwide acknowledged deployment technique today, from large enterprises to stores and small businesses. Software as a service, or SaaS, is a cloud-based software that makes ready-to-use software available to users via a mobile app or web browser.

The benefits of the same are immense for remote cooperation which brings in high demand for SaaS products. SaaS is becoming more popular by the day, both as a company strategy and as a product offering.

In this article, we are going to cover the factors that define the cost of building a saas product.

The Complexity Of Core SaaS Product Features

The functionality that your SaaS software requires will be determined by the purpose of your service. If the tool is simple and just focuses on one area, it will suffice to include only the essentials at the start of the project. However, more complicated systems with a broader scope may require the implementation of additional capabilities.

Here’s a list of critical features that practically every SaaS software should have.

1. Security

To prevent undesirable activity and govern the environment in your app, audit trail and security functions may be required. Because SaaS applications typically deliver data, services, and cloud storage to a large number of users, security is an important consideration. Your app should be dependable!

2. Communication

The use of communication technologies is determined by the app’s function. Users may need to communicate, receive notifications, or even make audio or video calls in various circumstances. Other functionalities of a SaaS programme could include document storage and sharing. You can also include messages or emails that were sent within the system. Using integrations with some email service providers would be a nice choice in this case.

3. Analytical Tools

The majority of consumers will require data analytics, as well as the ability to view metrics, charts, and graphs. Your app should be able to deliver reports to users or track real-time changes and provide notifications. In the realm of business intelligence, dashboards are employed. A dashboard is a must-have feature for your software if your target audience is in the business intelligence industry. Additionally, your team will benefit from the creation of an analytical dashboard. The analytics will track the number of users, payments, and other crucial data for your business’s growth with this tool.

4. Billing & Account Management

This feature is required in order to view payment history and gather data on successful and unsuccessful charges. You can use an external hosting service to avoid handling this data on your own. Account management is another feature that allows you to keep track of how many subscriptions have been upgraded or downgraded, how many accounts have been canceled, how many billing problems have occurred, and other important details.

SaaS Integration Of Third-Party Services

Another component on which the cost of development of the SaaS solution depends is the integration of any third-party services for any function. For example, if we look at one of the most important components, it is the payment system of the SaaS software. When designing such functionality, there are two options to consider. Both of these alternatives have different development costs and time requirements.

1. 3rd Party

On one side, the development team can sit and relax and rely on the available ready-made components. This may include using pre-built payment gateways and other related tools. It is an easier way around because it is quicker and saves a lot of effort and resources.

For the payment mechanism, already existing payment systems such as PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, and others provide APIs. The goal is to incorporate their service into your finished product. The incorporation of these services makes the building and development procedure easy to install and saves up time and costs.

2. Develop your own solution

On the contrary, if an organization has specific features and requirements, catering to ready-made solutions cannot solve the problem. In such a case all the work and coding has to be done by the developers from scratch. In the case of customized services, developers need to conduct research and run tests.

After the appropriate analysis of the same, they even need to design their security solution for their SaaS solution which further takes up more time and effort. As the number of features to test SaaS platform development grows, so does the number of features to verify. This is due to the fact that the payment process is built upon.

Security Compliance

1. HIPAA

HIPAA compliance for SaaS refers to software developers and service providers adhering to the HIPAA Security Rule’s administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, provided the products or services you develop or provide involve the creation, use, or transmission of Protected Health Information or any personally identifiable data about an individual.

For example, if you work as a software developer and create an application that collects personally identifiable information about a person that may be shared with a medical provider, you must comply with HIPAA. You must comply with HIPAA for SaaS providers if your clients create, utilize, or transfer Protected Health Information through your services, and you may be required to sign a Business Associate Agreement with certain clients.

2. GDPR

Because software services are distributed via the internet and many SaaS organizations manage vast volumes of data, the GDPR is extremely important in the SaaS market. Businesses must be able to explain what data is being processed, why it is being processed, and where the data will eventually be moved under the GDPR. Organizations must verify that data is processed legally.

This frequently entails obtaining valid authorization from the individuals whose data is being processed. For the processing, strong security standards and protections must be applied. The GDPR requires data processors and controllers in the SaaS market to adapt their policies, practices, and data handling procedures.

Software as a service, or SaaS, is one of the fastest-growing segments of the software business, with a lot of room for growth. It is nearly hard to set a fixed price and timetable for an average project because there is no such thing. Each SaaS product is one-of-a-kind. The price and also its uniqueness greatly depend on the team that develops the product.

SaaS Development Team Structure

Creating a SaaS application is a difficult task that necessitates the use of highly qualified and experienced engineers. Choosing a development team requires significant thought and the passing of a few tests. The primary goal of a SaaS application is to generate revenue, and if you do not hire the correct development team, you may wind up with a low-quality product that will only cost you money.

A developer team that handles the SaaS from start to finish must see it through to completion. They will need more skill on the team than just developers to do this. These are some of them:

1. Project Manager

The project manager is in charge of the project’s day-to-day operations and must be capable of managing several parts of the project, including scope, schedule, finances, risk, quality, and resources. Project managers work on specific projects with predetermined outcomes, deadlines, and budgetary constraints.

A project manager is a must for your development team as they need to know the history and context of what you wish to accomplish with your SaaS product. They should ideally have prior expertise in building SaaS systems.

2. Business Analyst

Through data analysis, business analysts assist companies in enhancing processes, goods, services, and software. Business analysts act as a link between IT and the business world, bridging the gap and increasing efficiency. They should ideally have worked with SaaS collaboration tools.

Business analysts can assist with the initial planning stage of SaaS solutions by generating requirements. They can also come into use throughout the optimization process. Business analysts are skilled at converting user feedback into enhancements for your development team to implement, resulting in a better customer experience.

3. UX/ UI Designer

The most difficult task nowadays is retaining consumers and ensuring that they become long-term customers. The only way to accomplish this is to deliver an outstanding user experience. When designing a UX for a SaaS platform, the first thing to think about is making navigation simple and straightforward. The UI/ UX design of a SaaS solution is critical to its success.

It can help to reduce customer churn, optimize the user journey, and provide an efficient and frictionless experience if correctly planned and implemented. Your SaaS product’s major growth will be rewarded by a well-established design solution that attracts and retains more clients. When it comes to SaaS product design, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. You should create your own approach to stand out in each project.

4. Backend Developer

Server-side development is referred to as backend development. Databases, scripting, website architecture, and, ideally, SaaS-based application architecture are all covered in depth. It describes the operations that happen behind the scenes when a user performs a selected activity. It might be logging into an account or purchasing anything from an online retailer. Backend engineers write code that allows browsers to interface with your data warehouse and cloud provider.

Backend developers should be employed early in the design process because they will need to be advised on the backend’s design. For example, you will need to pick a cloud provider, with Google, Microsoft, and AWS being the most popular options. These are questions that a skilled backend developer can assist you with, to attain the SaaS architecture you require.

5. Frontend Developer

A frontend developer connects the worlds of design and technology, encapsulating the utility of the backend in an engaging interface for people to interact with. They translate the design files created by your UI/ UX designer into HTML, CSS, and Javascript code, which are the main languages used in frontend development.

They may also use React, Angular, or other frontend technologies, so depending on your long-term goals, you may need to recruit React engineers at some point. Make sure you hire the correct developer for the job; for example, you wouldn’t hire a Javascript developer to work on a PHP SaaS app. There are several nuances about SaaS web application architecture that expert developers may be aware of, which is an evident advantage.

6. QA Tester

A quality assurance tester is responsible for streamlining software development processes and preventing production problems. They establish test strategies, document defects, and identify places where your programme can be improved.

At the testing stage, you should recruit a QA tester. Even if you are working on a fast-paced SaaS project, you should budget time and money to engage a skilled QA engineer to identify your application’s most vulnerable areas.

That finishes our discussion of the various roles that make up a SaaS development team structure and how to set up a team to create the finest SaaS platform possible (Enkonix).

Entrepreneurs, CEOs, CTOs, and IT executives are frequently challenged with determining the best SaaS tech stack. This will, in the end, determine the success and the pricing of your application. A terrific concept, great marketing and sales team could get you nowhere if your technology tech is not appropriate. Your SaaS tech stack should adapt, evolve, and transform over time, you may find yourself redesigning your entire SaaS web application.

This strategy almost always ends up being a waste of time, resources, and money. When you go around SaaS groups, you will see that people are always asking what the ideal SaaS technology stack is. The only solution to this would include the selection of a language and tool that help you get the job done. There are, however, languages and technologies that will make your developers’ work easier while also saving you money on web development.

What Is SaaS Development Tech Stack?

The programming languages, development tools, libraries, frameworks, and software used to create a web or mobile application are referred to as a tech stack. It is an important part of the development process, and it is also one of the initial steps in making your software. Its significance stems from the fact that your SaaS tech stack will decide the scalability, functionality, and feasibility of your application.

It is critical to pick the correct SaaS tech stack before you start your project because it will be difficult to make changes once you have started using it, and in certain circumstances, it will cost you more money and effort. The front end and back end are the two sides of the tech stack.

Backend

In simple terms, the backend is the part of the application that makes it work. It entails processes like developing business logic, constructing databases to store data, and hosting the programme on servers, among others.

Server:

The most basic job of a server, despite its importance for many activities, is to permit communication between a user and an application. It takes user requests, interprets them, processes them, and then displays the intended output on a web page. Based on your functional requirements and scalability strategy, you should choose a server to design a SaaS tech stack for development.

Most SaaS organizations, on the other hand, now choose to use cloud servers such as Amazon Web Services. AWS provides cloud computing services that are dependable, scalable, and affordable.

Technology:

Ruby, Node and Java are some of the exemplary languages used for the development of the SaaS product. Java is an object-oriented programming language that is widely utilized in the construction of enterprise-scale online applications, as well as android apps, desktop apps, scientific apps, and so on.

Ruby can be understood as an interpreted language for general usage that supports procedural, functional, and object-oriented programming paradigms. The language is extensively used by web developers around the world, and beginners should utilize it to get started with backend web programming because it is comparatively easier to learn.

Database:

A database is required for your SaaS service to store and organize data. Databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Redis are common choices. You must first select whether you want to use a relational database or a non-relational database, depending on your app requirements. Then, under each area, narrow down the possibilities that are appropriate for your SaaS application.

Hostings:

SaaS Hosting is a form of web hosting service in which your software programme and data are kept on the servers of a hosting provider, allowing clients to access your software solution or application via the Internet. For the same, AWS and Vultr are commonly relied upon. Vultr’s innovative cloud platform is on a mission to empower developers and companies by making infrastructure deployment easier.

Vultr allows seamless provisioning of public cloud, storage, and single-tenant bare metal. You install software hosted on AWS infrastructure and provide purchasers access to the programme in your AWS environment with software as a service (SaaS) products. Within your programme, you are in charge of customer access, account creation, resource allocation, and account maintenance (Medium).

Frontend

The front-end of an application is the part that a user sees and interacts with. HTML, JavaScript, and CSS are the three most common technologies used in web applications. These programming tools are necessary for the app’s smooth operation.

Libraries:

React and AngularJS are the two most prominent frontend languages. React is an open-source JavaScript library for creating user interfaces. Facebook and organizations keep track of it. React can be used as a foundation for developing single-page or portable applications.

AngularJS is a JavaScript-based open-source front-end web development platform that was developed by Google and other organizations to address a variety of issues with single-page apps.

Languages: HTML5, CSS 3, JS

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), is a programming language used to create electronic texts known as pages on the internet. Every page has several links to other pages in the form of hyperlinks. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a programming language that specifies how documents are presented to users in terms of layout and style.

A document is a text file format that uses a markup language such as HTML or other markup languages such as XML or SVG. JavaScript is a widely-used programming language that allows users to add advanced functionality to websites. It can be used to show periodic content updates, animated two-dimensional and three-dimensional visuals, interactive maps, and video boxes whenever a page performs a dynamic action.

Mobile Frameworks:

SaaS app creators understand that their web applications must have a mobile version since users anticipate capabilities on their phones. For the same, Flutter, Mobile Native and Kotlin are some technologies that are widely used. Flutter can be considered a good Google UI toolkit that aids in the development of native web, mobile, and desktop applications. This UI toolkit includes completely customizable widgets that make it easy to construct native apps in a short amount of time.

Native Script is an open-source framework that is a preferred framework for reducing the amount of code and the amount of time the programme takes to load on the system. Kotlin is a statically typed “pragmatic” programming language that blends object-oriented and functional programming characteristics. It is free and open-source. Interoperability, safety, clarity, and tooling support are all priorities.

Conclusion

To sum up, this essay focuses entirely on the aspects that must be considered when determining the cost of building a SaaS product. When it comes to bringing a vision to life, it is critical to remember that money is not the only consideration. You can assess where to spend money to acquire maximum and fruitful returns safely if you have the proper set of knowledge and this article tries to provide the same.

Developing a SaaS product requires a wide range of skills and knowledge that are possessed by different developers and engineers. SaaS is unquestionably the way of the future, and many technically inclined entrepreneurs are now focusing their creative resources on developing ideas that embrace this approach.

Building a SaaS solution may be a protracted process that has a variety of key milestones. Starting with the market research, the process goes down till selecting and packaging the appropriate technology packet. The technology stack you choose has a significant impact on the effectiveness of your application.

Choose one based on your budget and project requirements. If you choose the proper stack, you will be able to upgrade in the future if necessary. Using cloud-based and ready-to-use technologies can help you save money and accelerate development. Before you choose your technological stack, make sure you have a clear aim in mind.