SaaS (Software as a Service) V/S SaaP (Software as a Product) - What Should You Choose?

Let me tell you this thing beforehand that I’m a boastful advocate of SaaS-based applications over the SaaP-based. So, in this post, you will see me praising the SaaS a lot, not just because I favor SaaS applications but because it deserved to be praised.

We all are using several computer software from quite a long time and are pretty much satisfied with the feature set that we get out of the box but have you ever noticed the evolution curve the internet brings to our traditional software industry.

The software business was grown tremendously from local computers to cloud.

With the ever-increasing number of internet users, the penetration of cloud-based applications has increased extremely well. There were around 300 million internet users in the year 2000, and now in 2018, it has already crossed the mark of 4000 million internet users worldwide.

Here are some of the data points for a debate over SaaS V/s SaaP

Customizability

SaaP software are usually focused on niche categories whereas the SaaS products these days are made versatile to suit a wide range of businesses and audience. The other significant advantage of SaaS for its owners is the ability to deploy quick upgrades, without forcing the end users to regularly update the software with installable files as with on-premise software.

Accessibility

It is the ease of use that also makes the SaaS products a hot deal for the vast pool of audience who don't want to go through the typical learning curve of new software. Since SaaS is an all outsourced technology, you do not need to worry about maintaining the software in-house. And because of this, more and more companies now are switching to SaaS application model rather than continuing with the on-premise software solutions.

Where is the real money?

The money was always in the enterprise software (SaaP) until the Internet comes into the picture.

Tell me if you are still using the Encyclopedia software for your research purposes. I believe you are not. Because, why would you download and install the Encyclopedia when you have access to search engines like Google, which is a classic example of the SaaS.

Most of the SaaS businesses follow monthly/annual subscription retainers that keep the flow of cash running for the company who owns that SaaS without putting a one-off buying burden on the users as well.

But there is still one field where SaaP is thriving and hopefully will continue to grow. It’s anti-malware and anti-virus software. Because right now the anti-virus software has to be residing on your local machine to scan the system thoroughly. So, specifically, the security industry will continue to flourish as per the present scenario.

Integration

If you are using some existing software and you want that to integrate with your new software then a highly customized SaaP solution makes more sense.

But it's not a big deal anymore with the SaaS apps as well because of the wide availability of Open APIs that are made accessible by almost every software vendor these days.

Possibility

The possibilities of growing with the SaaS typed software solution is immense, and it will continue to rise without any doubt. Have a look at these some of the finest SaaS examples -

Airbnb is a SaaS and not an installable software. Snapchat, Uber, Evernote all these are SaaS products that are making our lives easier every day and night. The possibilities are endless with SaaS. As per a study done by Cisco, more than 83% of all the data centers will be based on the cloud within the next three years.

And it doesn't mean that it will be at complete saturation. There is always room for every new smart product on the market.

“No market is completely saturated; it’s saturated for those who refuse to face the heat. And where there is heat, there is your food to be cooked upon.”

Heap entered into the so-called saturated market of digital analytics solution in 2013; closed more than $40 Million in funding and grow quite quickly, even in front of the heat of big companies like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, and Kissmetrics.

Complexity

When evangelists debate over the complexity of both the platforms that is SaaS and SaaP. Some say that the complexity handling abilities are higher in SaaP and some say it’s better with SaaS. In my views - It’s evident that if you build on-premise software, i.e., SaaP; fully customized to one organizational needs, it can be made complex to any extent.

But the case is similar to SaaS as well. Isn’t it? If you are building a SaaS product specifically for a company, then it can be made complex and customized to their needs as well.

The only difference I see in both is that the data ownership and security point is better with SaaP (on-premise software) than SaaS because the data is available locally rather than on cloud.

The Upfront Cost To Users

The biggest tempting sensation with SaaS products is getting the flexible monthly subscriptions as per the usage instead of buying a one-off high priced SaaP software. This huge cash save in hand with $200/month/user over the $150,000 that you may have to shed on a dedicated SaaP is always a wiser choice, especially for the startups.

Piracy

This is the least talked aspect of SaaS V/s SaaP. The SaaS software is nearly impossible to crack whereas we all know what’s the condition of piracy with executable SaaP products on the Internet. As per a report published in Bloomberg, in 2010 alone, a sum of more than $59 Billion has lost due to pirated software.

I hope you find this article helpful and now are capable of making the right choice between SaaS and SaaP.