Developing a mobile app for your business has become mandatory with the penetration of smartphones. Well people are still confused whether building an app for their business is a trend or is a necessity, they are also struggling with various factors of getting an app developed for their business. The first and foremost dilemma they face is to decide whether to go for a SaaS based solution or a Custom ecommerce app development. Even expert developers are debating as to whether custom ecommerce apps are better than SaaS ecommerce apps or vice versa. There are few facts and figures which are in support of opting for a SaaS solution as mentioned below:
- It was forecasted that in 2017, revenue from the Software as a Service segmentwas expected to sum up to 8 billion U.S. dollars as per Statista.
- “41% of businesses are planning to investment more in Cloud technologies, among them,big and midsize companies plans to increase spending by 51%whilesmaller firms plans of only 35%.” – Waterford Technologies
- It is expected that by 2020, penetration of SaaS vs. Custom software deployment will be over 25%.
- It was predicted that in 2017 companies will spend 28% of their overall IT budgets on cloud computing with 45% solely being spent on SaaS.
Well the above facts clearly showthat the investment in SaaS (Software as a Service) by companies. In support of this if you are still in confusion, Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the SaaS over Custom Development and see whether to opt for SaaS or not.
Pros of Opting for SaaS Platform over Custom Built:
- Speed of Implementation& Deployment: As SaaS is a ready to use technology, the time frame used to get your apps developed is almost negligible as compared to Custom Development.
- Cost Effective: SaaS solution requires no huge investment. They charge one time set-up fees plus nominal monthly fees include licensing, updates and training. While developing just a basic custom app costs you around lakhs.
- Multiple Features, Fully Road-tested: SaaS solution offers ample features which are fully tested so no problems are encountered in live projects.
- Regular Upgrades: To compete in market, regular updates and upgrades are released which are available for free to all the subscribers. The best part is it automatically gets updated to your apps.
- Road- test Features: There are Beta programs which allow you to road-test & take customer feedback on new features before launching them.
- Low Manpower Investment: As it is a ready solution it does not require any additional resource to manage. Any non- technical person can handle it with ease.
- Scalable solution: These solutions are scalable to greater extent.
- Comprehensive Training: The best part is that if you choose any such platform, they give you in-depth training to manage it.
- Fully- Secured platform: As it is regularly tested by specialist teams and/or third parties, it is quiet secured platforms.
- Lower Risk: As everything is rented and the solution is tested thoroughly, the risks get reduced. It has been found that “testing” out a SaaS product can be very helpful for deciding whether a certain type of software will work for your business or not.
Cons of SaaS Platform over Custom Built:
- Lack of Features: SaaS solution may sometimes lack several features which are specifically important to your business needs while in custom ecommerce apps you can keep features as per your requirement.
- Inclusive of Irrelevant Features: SaaS solutions may sometimes include irrelevant features which are not at all mandatory for your business. For custom apps, you can integrate features that your business demands and pay only for them.
- Less Control: Since it is a rented solution, it does not give you the complete control over the back-office including accesses& permissions.
The above-stated facts and figures in support of SaaS will give you an overview and better understanding while choosing to build your own mobile app. The pros and cons of SaaS over Custom Apps clearly depict that SaaS based Apps will always be a better option for your online business. Still, if you are in a dilemma evaluate your business needs and your target audience, based on your analysis you can make the final decision.