The internet has been developing for a lengthy period in its current form and is the most important innovation of the previous two decades.

The personal computer, smartphone, social media, and artificial intelligence-powered bots such as chatbots and self-driving vehicles all rely on the internet to thrive.

So how is the software sector faring? What happens when you’re short on storage space and funds but want to deliver a high-quality service? Here comes SaaS.

What is Software as a Service?

SaaS, or software as a service, refers to delivering licenced software through the cloud, with customers paying on a subscription basis.

Small businesses and startups could acquire technology at a fraction of the cost in the 1980s, and internet penetration meant that many businesses were moving online.

However, obtaining licenced software to conduct daily operations is the most significant hurdle. This was the emergence of a bit of firm called Salesforce, founded by a visionary entrepreneur named Marc Benioff. A desire to provide superior customer service in the Sales area.

Read SaaS development guide for more information.

SaaS Product Market Overview

SaaS product development is one of the trend models set to keep rising at a steady rate. In 2020, statistics show that the SaaS market size reached $120.82 billion globally, and in 2021, it reached $152.69. As of now, the SaaS market size is at $208.1 billion.

According to SaaS product development based on location, the US market has 8 times more SaaS-based setups compared with other countries. Currently, the USA takes the lead with over 15,000 SaaS-based companies, then the UK market with approximately 2720 SaaS-based companies, and next is Canada with around 2000 SaaS-based enterprises.

With the trend analysis, the US SaaS market is predictable to grow at a steady rate from $98 billion – 202.5 billion in 2025.

The SaaS future is quite promising, especially because most companies are slowly adopting the SaaS way of operation. According to FBI- Fortune Business Insights, the overall SaaS market size is set to reach $716.52 billion in 2028.

With these insights, it is evident that SaaS product development is the way to go. Simply get the right team or company for your next SaaS project to ensure the success of the whole process.

Steps to Develop a SaaS Product from Scratch

Step 1: Conduct Market Research

As with any other company, SaaS needs you, the CEO, to do a thorough market analysis and determine if the market is ready for your concept. This ensures that you do not lose valuable time and money delving down a technological rabbit hole.

Consider the following essential questions. Like:

• Who is my prospective client?
• What distincts my product from others on the market?
• Which business strategy should I pursue to create an ARR as quickly as possible?

After you’ve pen downed these thoughts on a whiteboard and discussed them with your team, it’s time to write down your vision. It is critical that you have a clear vision for how your product will appear and that you research how your rivals failed.

Step 2: Prepare your business strategy.

A road plan is critical if, as we hope, you are thinking long term. This plan will determine whether your SaaS product succeeds or fails in the ever-competitive market.

Below are some questions you should address in your business strategy.

• What do you stand for? This should be a brief response, ideally in a line, in which you define what your SaaS product will achieve and how you intend to make a difference in the world.
• How will you monetize your SaaS offering? Every SaaS product is a company, so ensure that your finances are in order before proceeding.
• How do you promote your business to reach your target audience? Your company plan should present SaaS marketing strategies—the platforms you select to advertise your product.

Step 3: Assemble a team.

Developing a team with the proper tasks allocated to the right personnel is critical to the success of any SaaS firm. You may be an expert at creating code but a novice at communicating your thoughts. That is the moment to bring in your flamboyant roommate, who enjoys getting out and networking to get business.

You’ll need a go-to-guy as a co-founder, but it’s also critical to have the following team members:

• Developers of software
• Designers of products
• Business Analysts.
• Testers/Quality Assurance Analysts
• Marketing / Human Resources / Finance

Developing your team by hiring a dedicated developers is the best idea to build a SaaS product from scratch as per your expectations.

Step 4. Build your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

You are aware that you have an excellent product concept in your hands. You’ve begun debugging the code, dividing your time between two different displays, and fantasizing about the day when your product will be utilized by satisfied people worldwide.

An MVP is not a completely functional product but rather a notion that verifies your idea by the first few consumers. The product should alleviate the customer’s pain point, and if they leave the app smiling, you’ve won!

MVPs enable you to get end-user input and determine if consumers are willing to part with their hard-earned money for your product.

Step 5: Select the appropriate technology stack.

The SaaS technology stack for your application consists of the programming languages, various tools, and best SaaS frameworks that make it function.

1. Frontend: The frontend team ensures that everything you see on the screen works as expected.
2. Backend: While the frontend team ensures that users receive a decent initial impression of the app, the actual engineering takes place on the backend.
3. SaaS host: This is the cloud platform itself, which might be anything from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, or Google.
4. Database: The database is where all your secrets (customer data) are present. You must pick this product component carefully since consumer data is a sensitive subject.

Development Costs

The cost of SaaS product development ranges between $5000 – $ 1000000 or even more. The cost depends on a number of elements, as described in the next section.

To get the approximate and appropriate costs for your SaaS product development, you only need an expert company like Aalpha Information Systems, that will give you detailed requirements.

The costs depend on the resources needed and the talent type required to finish the project successfully. The more a project is complex, the more costly it will be.

You can charge the whole project either through:

Effort-based– this is based on the total number of experts handling the project and their respective rates on an hourly basis.

Time-based charges– This depends on the total stages required to finish the project successfully and the equivalent cost for every stage.

Factors that determine development costs include the following:

• Platform

The deployment platform you select for your software development plays a major role in the overall costs of the project. Ideally, cross-platform software solutions will cost more.

• Design

You can’t ignore the need for a proper UX design if you want a desirable product. As you plan for the project, include the budget for UX design, and hiring the best UX team is the best approach to this.

• Development Team Size

Developing a SaaS product will require a project manager, a QA engineer, a developer, and a business analyst. Complex projects will require more talents and professionals, hence a higher process.

• Project Size

We have medium, large, and enterprise sizes in that order. The larger and more complex your project is, the more costs you will incur.

• Technology Stack

Here, the team handling the project will determine the appropriate technology stack required to make your project a success. However, ensure you have an idea of what the team is suggesting to spend the required amount.

• Support

Once the project is complete, will you require extra maintenance services? Will you need to team to be on standby to fix any arising problems? If so, you must set a budget aside for the extra services.

Closing remarks

We’ve taught you how to build SaaS product. It is now up to you to expand on it and create your product. Adhere to the preceding guidance and make minor adjustments to fit your product development lifecycle.

Want to develop world-class SaaS product? Connect with our SaaS development company  : Aalpha information systems.