Software as a Service (SaaS) has experienced significant growth, becoming a common solution for businesses of all sizes due to its scalability and cost-efficiency. However, organizations often need guidance on how to effectively adopt SaaS. 

The Podcast excerpts discuss the importance of “SaaS competency,” both for providers delivering modernized applications and for businesses navigating the “SaaS discovery process” to identify suitable applications for migration. This process involves a thorough evaluation of existing applications, business requirements, technical considerations, costs, and potential risks. 

We also emphasizes the need to carefully assess potential SaaS vendors based on criteria like scalability, security, and infrastructure. Ultimately, we suggests a strategic approach to SaaS adoption to maximize its benefits, and positions JPStream as a resource to aid in this process.

Please listen our Podcast about adoption of SaaS

Frequently Asked Questions About SaaS

1. What are the primary advantages driving the increasing adoption of SaaS solutions by businesses, particularly SMBs?

The main reasons businesses are turning to SaaS include its scalability and cost-efficiency. SaaS typically eliminates the need for significant upfront capital investments in infrastructure and hardware. The subscription-based model allows businesses, especially small ones, to easily scale their software usage up or down based on their needs. Furthermore, SaaS applications are generally accessible through web browsers, easy to deploy, and the responsibility for maintenance usually falls on the provider, lowering the barrier to entry and providing access to enterprise-level software.

2. What is “SaaS competency” and why is it important when considering SaaS providers?

SaaS competency refers to a provider’s expertise, infrastructure, and capabilities to effectively deliver software applications as a service. This includes managing the underlying infrastructure, ensuring robust security, providing scalability to accommodate growth, and handling ongoing maintenance. Beyond basic reliability, a competent SaaS vendor can also update or migrate existing applications to enhance their efficiency, scalability, and compatibility with modern technologies through practices like re-architecting for cloud-native environments, adopting microservices, and implementing DevOps.

3. What are the key steps involved in the “SaaS discovery process” for a business?

The SaaS discovery process is a systematic approach to determine which of a business’s existing applications are suitable for migration to a SaaS model. The typical steps include:

1. Application Inventory: Documenting all current applications, their functionalities, underlying technologies, age, and associated data.
2. Application Analysis: Understanding the components of each application, how they integrate with others, and any dependencies.
3. Business Requirements: Defining the business problems the applications address, required security levels, performance needs, scalability demands, and customization requirements.
4. Technical Assessment: Evaluating data storage needs, data access methods, and necessary customization or configuration.
5. Cost Analysis: Comparing the cost of migrating to SaaS versus maintaining existing systems or infrastructure.
6. Risk Assessment: Identifying potential challenges associated with SaaS migration, such as data security, vendor reliability, and potential disruptions.

4. How should a business determine which of its applications are best suited for a SaaS model and which might not be?

Applications that offer fairly standard features and don’t rely on extensive customization or complex integrations with numerous legacy systems are generally good candidates for SaaS. If a business heavily depends on highly customized software with intricate integrations and outdated legacy systems, migrating to a standard SaaS product might not provide a sufficient return on investment due to the extensive configurations or customizations required. The SaaS discovery process helps identify these distinctions.

5. What critical criteria should a business use to evaluate potential SaaS vendors?

When evaluating SaaS vendors, businesses should consider the following:

1. Scalability: Can the vendor demonstrably scale to meet growth and ensure high availability and performance?
2. Security: What are their security measures for data protection and compliance with relevant standards?
3. Infrastructure: What is the quality of their data centers, network capabilities, and disaster recovery plans?
4. Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Are their SLAs clear, outlining service levels, uptime guarantees, and response times?
5. User Experience: Is the user experience seamless, with minimal latency and user-friendly interfaces?
6. Innovation: Does the vendor regularly update, innovate, and improve their product with new features and bug fixes?
7. Integration: How easily does the SaaS application integrate with the business’s existing systems and allow for seamless data exchange?
8. Compliance: Does the vendor adhere to relevant compliance standards (e.g., SOC2, HIPAA) and industry regulations for data privacy?
9. ROI: What are their pricing models, and does the investment align with the expected return?

6. What are some common concerns or risks associated with migrating to a SaaS model?

Potential risks associated with SaaS migration include data security, ensuring the vendor’s reliability and stability, and the potential for disruptions to workflows and customer interactions during the transition. Thorough vendor evaluation and a well-planned migration strategy can help mitigate these risks.

7. What is the role of a SaaS strategy, and what key steps might it involve?

A SaaS strategy is crucial for businesses to maximize the benefits of cloud opportunities rather than simply migrating without a plan. Key steps in developing a SaaS strategy can include:

1. Assessment: Optimizing the current application inventory and developing modernization recommendations.
2. Architecture: Mapping out the end-to-end architecture based on both functional and non-functional requirements.
3. Development: Accelerating the development and integration of SaaS solutions with existing systems.
4. Deployment: Automating service provisioning and deployment processes.

8. How can a specialized provider assist businesses in their SaaS journey?

Specialized providers offer expertise and experience in navigating the complexities of SaaS discovery, selection, and implementation. They can help businesses identify the most suitable SaaS products for their needs, determine which applications offer the best return on investment for modernization, and prepare their infrastructure for the cloud. Their streamlined processes and agile methodologies can accelerate the transformation, enabling businesses to innovate, compete, and grow more quickly.