Cloud computing is a technology that has gained a lot of attention recently. Right now, the market for cloud computing is estimated at a massive $482 billion. One of the categories of cloud computing is Software-as-a-product (SaaS). Due to its advantages, SaaS is gaining a lot of attraction. Businesses are interested in the cost of developing a SaaS product.
Why is that? Why are businesses investing a lot of money in SaaS products? What type of SaaS development costs are involved? In this blog, we are going to cover that. Plus, we are attaching the link to how much it costs to build a SaaS platform. That contains a detailed guide on the cost of building a SaaS product.
Let's move forward and discuss what SaaS is and why it is leading the race in cloud computing.
SaaS Platform's Latest Trends
As mentioned before, SaaS is becoming a top choice for many companies. These companies are looking forward to bringing agility and gaining an edge over their competitors. Comparatively, SaaS is easier to use and is hassle-free if we talk about installation and deployment.
But the question is, "What are the key trends that are involved in SaaS products?". The notorious trend is incorporating AI into SaaS products. See, the idea behind a successful business is data gathering. That data is then used to provide custom-made solutions.
Incorporating AI into SaaS enables a business to gain and filter data efficiently. Companies like Amazon, Google, Zoom, and Steam have introduced AI into their service. That makes sense, right? These companies are leading the race of modern technology. According to the blog by Semrush, 86% of the CEOs are saying that they have incorporated AI into their business.
Another trend is Machine learning. ML works by gathering responses from solutions using mathematical calculations and probability. One example is Netflix and its recommendation of movies. More than half of traffic is generated by mobile devices and web searches. Businesses are trying to develop mobile-friendly apps and web apps. And they are integrating ML to gather responses. Combining that with SaaS service is a perfect solution that can bring accessibility to the table.
How to Calculate the Cost of Building a SaaS Product
When we talk about the cost of SaaS development, mainly there are salaries of developers and the hosting. However, there is no accurate way to calculate the cost of SaaS software development. Yes, you can guess the pricing of hosting (Ranging from $1000-$10,000), but the salaries cannot be determined. The best you can do is get the average hourly rate of the developers and multiply it by the hours taken to develop the program.
There is a way that can help you in getting a somewhat accurate cost of building a SaaS marketplace. For instance, the first method is to see what type of charges your competitors are charging for their service. Secondly, you can do market research and see what is the hourly rate of developers who specialize in making SaaS products.
Discuss the features of your SaaS platform with the developers and see what price they offer you. The bottom line is if you want to calculate the cost of building a SaaS marketplace, the best way is to do market research.
Factors that Affect the Cost of Building a SaaS Marketplace
What type of parameters can affect the cost of SaaS software development? Well, we can divide these factors into three sections.
- SaaS product
- Team members
- Quality testing and duration
SaaS Product
The ultimate factor that contributes to higher costs of SaaS development is the product itself. The design of your product, its size, features, and complexity have a reflection on the pricing of SaaS product development. The prices associated with SaaS products cannot be reduced because, in the end, they represent the future of your product.
It is for sure that a SaaS product with a complex design and ton of features will cost you more. But that cannot be compromised. Secondly, there is another factor here, and that is product actions. For instance, if your product is designed to work on one thing only, it will cost you less. However, if the scope is enormous and there are multiple actions involved, then you have to splurge the money.
SaaS products are scalable, and scalability can also cost because there will be processes involved, such as redesigning of UI, incorporating more features, etc.
Team Members
Team members play an essential role in the cost of developing a SaaS platform. There are be 2 or 3 members, or there can be 30 members. It all depends on the scope of the project. A bigger team does not mean that you have to pay significant costs. It is just that you have to pay salaries according to their hourly rate. Moreover, if you are looking to work with developers from specific countries, be ready to pay a hefty rate.
Quality Testing and Duration
Lastly, there is another parameter that can lead to higher SaaS development costs. When developers write code, it is messy and has a lot of bugs. The quality assurance team ensures that there are no bugs and does testing accordingly. If there are lines of bugs in the code, the QA team will charge according to that. That leads to increased costs.
Moreover, time is also related to the cost of building a SaaS product. If a project is complex, it will take a lot of time to generate that platform. That means that more infrastructure and resources will be used. As it gets longer, more investment will be involved, and that can affect your budget.
Final Verdict
SaaS platform is a good business and can help you get profits in the long run. However, it is essential to calculate a rough estimation of the costs that are involved in the process. If you have that and do everything accordingly, there is a chance that you will get to the top.
