Software as a Service (SaaS) provides solutions that offer industrial companies new and innovative ways to generate value across many different enterprises. More recently, this has become especially relevant in the realm of product development.
Defining SaaS
There are three major components that differentiate enterprise SaaS from other kinds of software:
- Licensing — Customers adhere to a model whereby access to the software is bought on a subscription or consumption basis.
- Deployment — A third-party owns, manages, and delivers the software in the cloud.
- Architecture — The software is designed specifically for the delivery of new value via multi-tenancy and non-relational databases.
Although SaaS has been on the market for almost twenty years, it’s only recently that we have begun to see SaaS adoption elevate to become standard across all industries and business functions. This is in part due to the pandemic in 2020, which banished most workforces to virtual office spaces, leaving organizations with no other choice but to integrate SaaS applications into their work processes.
Today, it is estimated that SaaS represents about 50% of enterprise resource planning (ERP), 70% of human capital management (HCM), and more than 80% of customer relationship management (CRM) software by revenue. And in years to come, the prevalence of SaaS is projected to grow.
The Specific Benefits of SaaS
While the far-reaching capabilities of SaaS practically ensure it will be the future of industrial enterprise software, there are several key takeaways regarding the methods by which SaaS benefits businessd, from product development to manufacturing and service. Here are the three most important:
- Innovation — The multi-tenant architecture by which SaaS is designed allows for the automatic and seamless deployment of updates and upgrades without causing downtime for users.
- Collaboration — Thanks to their non-relational database, data within SaaS can be directly edited or manipulated by users, allowing for real-time collaboration and concurrent editing not possible beforehand.
- Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) — By consolidating hardware infrastructure, maintenance, and IT overhead, the overall cost SaaS puts on a company is far reduced compared to any alternative.
How Enterprise SaaS Allows for Better and Safer Product Development
The benefits delivered through SaaS applications are pivotal for the success of modern industrial and engineering companies. Especially as remote work becomes a more permanent arrangement. But as any product developer knows, safeguarding intellectual property (IP) is of the utmost importance. Since product development requires collaboration, and intense competition exists within the world of innovation, the product development process is particularly risky. Thus, it is no surprise that a recent survey of key business drivers found 59% of respondents perceived security to be the greatest concern regarding the adoption of SaaS solutions.
Fortunately, the decades-long development of SaaS models has allowed for the implementation of new and improved cybersecurity measures, all the way down the line of product development. These measures include increased IP protection, higher availability and redundancy, as well as more thorough, more frequent data backups. In fact, it is predicted that by 2025, 99% of all cloud security failures will be a result of human error—meaning that SaaS software itself should be virtually impenetrable.
So while some product developers might still fear for the safety of their data, the real data shows SaaS solutions are, in fact, about as safe as you can possibly get.
Transitioning to a workforce powered through SaaS applications can be challenging. That’s why many companies turn to business partners like KitelyTech, INC. for assistance. At KitelyTech, INC., we work with companies to develop and implement new software solutions. Call us at (800) 274 2908 to discuss your business’s software needs and find out how we can help.
