SaaS (software as a service)
Software used over the internet and paid for by subscription, with nothing to install or maintain.
What is SaaS, and is it a better fit than custom software built for my business?
SaaS stands for software as a service. The provider hosts and maintains the program, and many customers use it from a browser, paying a recurring fee. Online invoicing systems or subscription CRMs are common examples.
For the person using it, it's convenient: it starts fast and they never have to think about servers. In exchange, the program is the same for everyone, and the fee keeps getting paid for as long as it's in use.
Why it matters to your business
For a lot of common tasks, SaaS is usually the sensible choice. When a business's operation is unusual, or the sum of all its subscriptions keeps growing every year, software built just for it can pay off better in the medium term. And if you have a solution that works for many similar businesses, turning it into a SaaS can be a business model in its own right.
How we use this at Damorus
None of our published projects is a SaaS. Atlantic Center is software built for a single client, installed on their own computers, with the data in their own cloud account. Its case study does note, though, that the technical foundation (working offline, syncing, updating itself, and backing up in several layers) would carry over to other academies and gyms, and that what changes from one business to the next is the model; a foundation like that could become a SaaS.
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