Software as a Service (SaaS) is changing the way businesses operate. It’s not just a trend: it’s a proven way for small business owners to save time and money. We owe it all to the cloud for ushering SaaS into the business world.
When examining the basics of running a business, a single subscription to a SaaS app could take the place of an entire department. Small businesses and start ups can have email, file storage, expenses, purchasing, human resources, collaboration and task management at a lower cost for IT and software. With access to services and software that was once only available to huge companies because of the high cost of infrastructures and maintenance, software services allow a business to cut costs and focus on their product and services instead of setting up elaborate software or delegating between departments.
As a startup in the SaaS space, it is a long and perilous journey just to survive, let alone be notably successful. As the marketplaces have become quickly crowded, just finding a niche deems very difficult, let alone actively dominating one. The big players easily establish themselves, offering freemium cloud storage and software build upon already successfully proven programs. Microsoft now offers its Office suite in the cloud and Google has its slew of online business tools, all as various and competitively priced monthly subscriptions. Other startups moved in quickly at the outset, snatching up software real estate and thriving: Basecamp for project management, Freshbooks for accounting, Salesforce for customer relationship management, Pinterest for project and interest discovery, Snapchat for innovative mobile conversation, the list goes on (Vidra, 2014).
So what exactly does it take to survive as a SaaS startup in today’s information age?
Technological innovation, design, strong business models and customer attraction and retention all seem to be at the forefront of SaaS culture, although the difference between short and long-term success may be more elusive than any particular set of recipes for permanence.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
- SECTION 2: RESEARCH QUESTION
- Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Marketing and Monetisation
- Acquiring Users and Profits
- Threats in the Marketplace
- SECTION 3: LITERATURE REVIEW
- Gompers and Lerner (2001)
- Biased Assessments of Information
- Overoptimism and Expansion
- Evernote VS Springpad
- Evernote's Long-Term Vision
- Springpad's Short-Term Focus
- Startup Metrics for Internet Marketing and Product Management
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Software as a Service (SaaS)?
SaaS is a software distribution model where applications are hosted by a provider in the cloud and made available to customers over the internet, usually via subscription.
How does SaaS benefit small businesses and startups?
It allows startups to access professional tools for HR, accounting, and task management at a lower cost, without the need for expensive IT infrastructure or maintenance.
What are the main threats for SaaS startups today?
Crowded marketplaces, competition from tech giants like Google and Microsoft, and the difficulty of acquiring and retaining customers in a "freemium" culture.
What can we learn from the Evernote vs. Springpad case?
The case study highlights the importance of long-term vision and sustainable business models over short-term focus and rapid but unstable expansion.
What are "Startup Metrics" in internet marketing?
These are key performance indicators (KPIs) like customer acquisition cost (CAC), churn rate, and lifetime value (LTV) used to measure the health and growth of a SaaS business.
- Quote paper
- Nick Birch (Author), 2015, Surviving as a "Software as a Service" (SaaS) Startup, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/287995
