Software as a Service (Saas) is a term thrown around an awful lot in the days of modern computing and business.
In short, SaaS is a delivery model where software is hosted by a third-party provider and made available to customers over the internet.
As an SME, church or charity, you might not have the in-house resources necessary for searching out and selecting a SaaS solution that does everything you need.
For any particular requirement, hundreds of options (‘solutions’) are out there. We’ve put this blog together to help you pick the right SaaS vendor and service for your organisation. Here we go.
Because it’s such an important job, hundreds of options (‘solutions’) are out there. We’ve put this blog together to help you pick the right SaaS vendor and service for your organisation. Here we go.
Identify the problem(s) you’re looking to solve
Most organisations look for a new SaaS solution when they either:
- Have a new requirement, such as needing to manage employees’ leave requests
- Have an existing requirement with an existing solution that just isn’t delivering the goods anymore, either through poor performance or because it cannot be properly supported any longer, such as an existing system to manage leave requests that’s either no longer supported or running on unsupported technology
- Are looking to reduce costs associated with an existing solution, such as a leave booking system that doesn’t work properly or where the vendor maintenance costs have gone up
So, as simple as it might sound, the pivotal point of all ‘solutions’ rests right at the start, with the problem itself. Defining the problem that you are trying to solve at a top level, then writing down what it must do, and finally detailing how it should do what it needs to do is a good starting point.
What are examples of requirements that can be met by a SaaS Solution?
Depending on what your business or organisation does, there are a huge range of possible SaaS offerings, these might be sector specific, or generic across all businesses. A sector specific example might be a luggage tracking tool used by an airline, a generic solution might be a project planning tool. Some examples of problems you may be looking to resolve and their solutions are:
- Improving how you manage customer relationships (with a new CRM system)
- Gathering user feedback to improve the customer experience (with a survey tool)
- Sending messages to parents (with an automated messaging platform)
- Ensuring staff complete mandatory training (with a learning management system)
Once you’ve defined your requirements, it should be easier to find the SaaS services that provide the tools you’re looking for. However, if you’re not sure what you want or need at this early stage of the process, you might spend far too much money on SaaS that doesn’t solve anything.
Determine your functional requirements
Functional requirements are ‘what a solution should do’, while non-functional requirements are ‘how the solution should do what it does’.
For example, a leave booking system should allow a user to login and create a leave request. This is a functional requirement – it relates to what the solution should do.
When the user logs into the leave booking system, they should have a unique username and password and the system should allow the administrator to define password complexity requirements. This is a non-functional requirement – it relates to how the solution should do what it does.
It’s worth thinking not just what the solution should be able to do but what different roles should exist in the system and what each of those roles should be able to do. Typically, this would include users, managers and administrators, but the list might be much longer. Solutions as complex as Microsoft 365 for example have many different roles – probably around 50-100 in total.
Analyse what you need the solution to do and write down each item separately.
- Users can request leave
- Users can cancel leave
- Users can modify leave
- Managers can approve leave
- Managers can deny leave
- Managers can view who is on leave when
- Administrators can change who manages who
- etc
Writing down the requirements individually might sound unnecessary – but when you come to evaluate one SaaS provider and compare it to another if you have combined things then you will struggle to differentiate. For example imagine for a moment you have a single requirement of “Users can request, cancel, and modify leave bookings” and you are comparing two providers. The first only allows you to request and cancel leave bookings, the second allows you to request, cancel and modify leave bookings. You would want the second to be given a higher score in your evaluation. This is why each requirement needs to be individual not an aggregate.
One way to shortcut this process is to look at the feature list of some possible suppliers and use their features to inform the generation of your functional requirements. Just be careful to only include items you actually believe are needed in the solution you are looking for.
Research, research, research
Once you have identified your functional requirements, evaluate potential SaaS solutions to determine which ones meet your needs.
There are thousands of vendors out there. Each of these will have several packages, optional extras, and so on.
So, it’s important that you do your research and analyse, evaluate and compare each vendor and SaaS solution to ensure the best fit for your organisation.
Here are some factors to consider when evaluating potential SaaS solutions:
- Compare each solution against your list of requirements to determine which one offers the most comprehensive set of features and functions that meet your needs.
- Consider the user experience of each solution. Look for a solution that is intuitive and easy to use, with a well-designed interface that is easy to navigate. User adoption is critical to the success of any SaaS solution, so choosing a solution that is easy for your employees to use can help ensure successful adoption.
- Evaluate the security features of each solution to ensure that it meets your security requirements. Look for solutions that offer encryption, access controls, and other security features to protect your data.
- Consider the integration capabilities of each solution. Look for a solution that can integrate with your existing systems, such as your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, to streamline your workflows and improve efficiency.
- Compare the cost of each solution to determine which one offers the best value for your money. Consider the upfront costs, ongoing maintenance and support costs, and any additional costs associated with customizations or integrations. Also consider the impact of increasing or decreasing the number of users in your organisation on the cost.
- Evaluate the reputation of each vendor to ensure that they are reliable and trustworthy. Look for reviews and ratings from other customers, and consider the vendor’s track record of delivering quality solutions and providing good customer support.
- Consider the scalability of each solution. Look for a solution that can grow with your business and accommodate changing needs over time.
When it comes to doing your research, there are many information sources out there. The vendors’ own websites are usually the best place to start, but remember, they are all trying to sell you a product, so you may not get a totally objective review.
So, read their material, watch videos, ask for a demo, get the costs and ask questions as a starting point.
Then, do a bit of research on external review sites, news and media stories etc to build up a picture of what other customers and industry experts think, and if what they’re saying matches what the vendor is telling you.
Use a scoring system to compare different solutions based on how well they meet your requirements.
How to differentiate between similar SaaS providers
Once you’ve identified the right SaaS solution for you, it might be challenging to narrow down your choice of vendor (supplier). After all, most provide a fairly similar service.
We recommend using the following thoughts to narrow your list down. If necessary, get in touch to ask a particular provider more about the services, timeframes, costs, etc.
- Local presence – while part of the beauty of SaaS is its ‘anywhere-in-the-world’ accessibility, using a local provider that can physically visit you means you’ll get a more comprehensive solution. At the very least, look for a vendor in the same country, bound by the same laws and expectations as you.
- Service-level agreement(SLA) and its fine print – the SLA is the contractual commitment document between you and the supplier. Double-check the small print, ensuring everything is reasonable.
- Set up costs – the upfront cost is a major factor to most organisations, especially smaller ones like SMEs, churches and charities. However, don’t forget that you’ll probably get what you pay for.
- Migration costs – If you have an existing solution how you move onto the new solution is important, as it may incur additional costs. Investigate what the SaaS provider will do for free to help you with the migration.
- Running costs– running costs are usually a more significant factor than the upfront price. Small businesses often forget to consider it. The beauty of the SaaS model is most vendors charge per user by subscription tier, so are easy to dip in and out of as needed, and scale up and down as your operations change. How the vendor charges can also make a massive difference to your overall running costs. Do they charge per user or per organisation? And what features are available only on the higher price subscription tiers? There are vital factors to consider.
- Time of implementation– in most cases, you’ll want your SaaS solution sooner rather than later. Because most SaaS products are cloud-based, once you’ve paid your subscription, you can usually start using them straight away, although some may require further implementation by the vendor. Some providers might take much longer or be held up by other existing commitments. You can ask them about these directly. Look for suppliers that will only charge you once they’ve completed the migration into the new SaaS.
- Content, data and history – While you can get up-and-running with most SaaS solutions straight away, when you bring your subscription to an end, making a clean break can be tricky. Often, an organisation might use a service for a long period, then decide it’s no longer working for them and get stuck, because they can’t get their data, content or work history out of the software to transfer to another system. You should bear this in mind and investigate how easy it is to switch, and what work, content and data you can export and retain.
- After-sales support– once the project is finished, can you keep in touch with the vendor? What if something goes wrong? What about if you struggle to understand how something works? A good reputation for after-sales support is crucial.
- Reviews– reviews aren’t always the most reliable source. People are far more likely to leave a bad opinion than a positive one. However, if you’re looking for a deciding factor, it’s a good route to go.
Before committing to a SaaS solution, test it to ensure that it meets your requirements in practice. This could involve a trial period or a proof-of-concept project to verify that the solution meets your needs.
AMDH Services can help you
If you need help choosing and implementing a SaaS solution across your organisation, AMDH Services can help. Our experienced ICT consultants know everything there is to know about cloud systems.
We’ll help you draft your strategy, ensuring that whatever you choose is the right option for you and your business.
Intrigued? Why not contact us for a commitment-free friendly chat about what you’re looking for? We’ll be happy to help. We can be reached via the form below.
