27+ Software Business Ideas
Businesses in nearly every industry can’t afford to be left behind as the technology revolution continues. Many traditional businesses are now using the internet to expand their reach.
Businesses that used to focus on brick-and-mortar storefronts are taking advantage of the internet to reach more customers.
What exactly is SaaS?
SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SaaS) is a software licensing and delivery model in which licenses are for use of the software as an on-demand service, which can be called from different devices and its use does not have to be tied to a single computer
SaaS, also known as “on-demand applications,” is a software delivery model in which the service provider hosts the program in a data center and consumers access it over the internet.
In a SaaS business model, a company launches a new software product and sells it to customers on an as-needed basis, giving customers access to the latest features and upgrades as the company releases them.
In the Software-as-a-service model, the customers who subscribe to the service no longer need to maintain the previously needed hardware or other resources and instead can access the software easily through a client program or web browser.
Human resources management (HRM) software, collaboration software, and customer relationship management (CRM) software are among the applications with a high penetration rate of public cloud SaaS.
As of 2021, the software as a service (SaaS) industry is estimated to be worth approximately $145 billion.
Before launching any SaaS startup, it is essential to perform extensive market research and evaluate solutions and competitors. Meanwhile, take a look at the most recent successful SaaS startup ideas.
Saas Business Models
Software as a Service or SaaS is a software licensing and delivery model that allows the customer to access the software remotely over a computer network.
SaaS is usually a monthly/annually subscription-based service and is designed for businesses looking to lower operational costs and minimize the need for software installation.
Trending Saas Business Ideas
Here are some of the SaaS Business Tools:
- CRM tool: SaaS platforms that enable business owners to collect and manage customer information, monitor sales, plan marketing and communication, and follow up on potential leads and closed deals.
- SMS Management: SaaS services that provide business owners with SMS and mobile application management, allowing them to selectively block or unblock specific SMSs.
- Email marketing automation: SaaS services that allow the users to create and deploy automated email campaigns and responses on a schedule, track return rates, analyze open and click rates, trigger emails based on specified triggers (e.g., time of day or customer type), etc.
- Mobile application management: SaaS services that allow business owners to collect and manage mobile app metadata, user profiles, and customers’ information including information about installed applications under each specific profile. SaaS solutions that create mobile apps for businesses without any programming or app development skills required. This category includes both the development platform and the apps created with it (such as Salesforce’s AppCloud).
- Customer relationship management (CRM) software: SaaS platforms are used to manage customer data centrally. In addition, the platform can help business owners track the data of customers who switch or interact with different companies. SaaS platforms that help businesses to organize their customer service process, including chat and email support, call centers, self-service portals, and fixed price-based support contracts with customers.
- Business intelligence software: SaaS platforms that automatically update business data from the source and provide the analysis for it. SaaS platforms that provide business owners with data analysis services, including predictive analytics, reports, charts, and graphs.
- Insurance software: SaaS platforms that assist in setting up and managing insurance services (e.g., claims processing).
- Human resources (HR) software: SaaS platforms that help businesses to manage their HR and employee data. SaaS platforms that automate the hiring, onboarding, and management of employees.
- Salesforce CRM: SaaS platforms that allow companies to manage customer data and call center operations. Salesforce is a leading SaaS provider.
- Email marketing software: SaaS platforms that help businesses to manage their email marketing campaigns. Most of the email marketing SaaS providers offer comprehensive software suites that include e-commerce, customer engagement, and analytics tools for companies.
- Social networking service (SNS) software: SaaS platforms that enable businesses to launch social network services, promote them via ads, and provide management services for multiple social media accounts.
- Sales lead management software: SaaS platforms that serve as sales force automation tools by tracking sales leads and automating tasks such as email alerts, reminders, follow-up emails (based on a predetermined schedule), and emails for obtaining feedback from the customers. SaaS platforms that help to manage sales leads. The software tracks the source of each potential lead (e.g., from a social network or email), conversion process (e.g., from a download to a free trial to an actual customer), and opportunities (such as search by industry, location, company size, etc.
- Project management tool: A SaaS-based platform that lets users manage their projects. Users can create tasks, set deadlines and reminders, track progress, and get project reports.
- Web-hosting and e-commerce providers: SaaS platforms that provide businesses with web-hosting, domain name registration, and e-commerce solutions.
- Business continuity software: SaaS platforms that help businesses to recover their data and replicate it on other servers in case of a data disaster.
- Data encryption software: SaaS vendors that offer encryption services for businesses to secure their data from unauthorized access.
- Financial management software: SaaS platforms that provide financial management and accounting tools to businesses. The platform automatically creates business reports and allows businesses to track the expenses, income, sales, and profits, allowing them to analyze the data from different perspectives (e.g., by product or by department).
- File backup software: SaaS solutions that store user files in the cloud and allow users to access them from any device through an internet connection.
- Enterprise resource planning tools: SaaS platforms that provide ERP (enterprise resource planning) tools and allow users to manage everything from accounts receivable to inventory.
- Accounting software: SaaS platforms that allow businesses to track their sales, expenses, forecasts, and profits.
- Cloud storage software: SaaS services that provide cloud storage for businesses in the form of data backups, file sharing, file collaboration, file storage, etc.
- Cloud security software: SaaS platforms that advise businesses on how to secure their data from cyber-attacks and provide encryption services for the data.
- Help desk software: SaaS platforms that provide IT and customer support services for businesses. SaaS platforms that provide IT and customer support services for businesses.
- Internet service provider (ISP) software: SaaS platforms that offer internet connectivity and data services to clients.
- Project management software: SaaS solutions that provide project management tools to businesses, including creating tasks, assigning deadlines, setting reminders, tracking progress, and providing reports.
- Digital asset management software: SaaS solutions that allow businesses to store various files in one location and share them with colleagues or clients, track who accessed which file when, search for files by keyword or tag, etc.
- Customer experience management software: SaaS tools that allow businesses to track customer feedback and survey responses, monitor the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, track marketing results, prioritize marketing activities, and more.
SaaS (Software as a Service) Business Models Examples
What are some examples of SaaS?
There are many examples of SaaS business models. Some examples of SaaS services include:
- Salesforce– a CRM, customer service, and analytics software company.
- Office 365– Microsoft\’s cloud-based productivity suite.
- Google Docs– online documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
- Mapbox– mapping and geospatial data.
- Slack– a team collaboration platform.
- Freshbooks– an online invoicing and accounting software.
- Batchbook– a web-based CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
- Evernote– a cloud-based note-taking and organizing tool.
- Trello– a collaborative project management tool.
- Box– online file storage and collaboration platform.
- Github– a code repository.
- Google Drive– online file hosting and access.
What are some advantages of SaaS?
SaaS can be very cost-effective since the basic subscription fee often is less than half of the cost to purchase an equivalent application. They also take less time to install and set up, so they can be used in almost any location or environment.
Plus, since most SaaS applications have many layers of network services behind them, security is a major advantage because each level has to have user credentials for access.
What are some disadvantages of SaaS?
While SaaS applications can be very cost-effective, they have their drawbacks as well. For example, the lack of local office spaces has caused some IT departments to not provide enough bandwidth for the servers hosting these online services, so slow connections and latency are common for many customers.
Also, since security is so critical with SaaS applications, it is important to choose providers that will ensure that all information on users’ computers will remain private and secure.
Business-To-Business and Business To Customer SaaS
SaaS solutions are a form of Software as a Service (SaaS) distributed applications. They can be consumer-facing (B2C) (e.g., Salesforce, Zendesk) or business-to-business (e.g., Microsoft Dynamics CRM). In the past 10 years, the SaaS market has grown exponentially due to several factors such as:
Cloud Computing has given rise to different forms of SaaS services in recent years, each having its own pros and cons and customer markets.
All of the above examples have some common benefits:
The cloud model and SaaS are also used for enterprise software such as ERP systems, collaboration platforms, and back-office applications. In these cases, the cloud is a utility-like extension of internal systems.
These applications are not provided to end users but rather to third-party customers. Examples include Salesforce, NetSuite, Oracle’s recently launched App Cloud Service SalesClarity.
SaaS business models generally follow the “WITHOUT FRANCHISE” models such as Office 365 (Microsoft) or Google Drive (Google).
How Much Does It Cost to Develop SaaS?
Software as a Service or SaaS is a software licensing and delivery model that allows the customer to access the software remotely over a computer network.
SaaS is usually a monthly subscription-based service and is designed for businesses looking to lower operational costs and minimize the need for software installation.
In general, SaaS is cheaper to develop than on-premise software, because you don\’t have to worry about the cost of hardware. The cost to develop a SaaS application usually falls between $15,000 and $100,000, with the majority leaning toward the middle.
The range for SaaS Platforms is greater, settling anywhere between 50,000 and 250,000. However, the operational costs are also significantly lower as well.