SaaS, or Software-as-a-Service, is becoming more popular internationally. SaaS eliminates the time-consuming task of deploying and monitoring enterprise software and application or software downtime caused by performance issues.
More and more software is being hosted in a Software-as-a-Service business model by many vendors at this time.
Scalability, flexibility, bandwidth, and security are all things to keep in mind before making a SaaS hosting purchase.
The wrong hosting provider can stifle your company’s growth, while the right SaaS web hosting services can be a boon.
A typical scenario for SaaS
The customer, the SaaS provider, and the SaaS application vendor all contribute to a SaaS environment.
The Customer: A SaaS customer is a business or individual that wants to use software to accomplish a specific task and pays a monthly subscription fee to a SaaS platform.
The SaaS Provider: It is the SaaS providers who sell or offer the software as a service.
These people run the software that customers can subscribe to through SaaS.
The SaaS Application Vendor: An application vendor is a company that makes software that can be offered as a service by SaaS companies.
Why You Need SaaS Hosting Service Providers?
SaaS makes use of a cloud-based delivery model.
A SaaS hosting provider or an ISV communicates with a cloud provider to host the application in the provider’s data center using the provider’s databases, servers, networking, and computing resources.
There are a few necessities that a SaaS hosting provider must provide:
Availability: Good uptime and reliability are required by the SaaS hosting solution.
Usability: The SaaS environment should be easy to use for the end-user.
If they can’t figure out how to use it, they’ll switch to your competitors.
Analytics: The SaaS hosting provider should provide real-time metrics for analyzing the use and behavior in the hosting environment within the host environment.
When looking for a SaaS hosting provider, keep these five things in mind:
- Your SaaS Business Needs
The needs of your business are unique. Over this, you should select a hosting service that can meet your company’s requirements. As a first step, determine how many resources your SaaS application will require to run. The most critical considerations are the volume of monthly traffic, the amount of storage required, and the amount of bandwidth required. In addition to these, you’ll require:
- Automated server backups
- Timely server administration and management
- Adequate cloud storage space
- Virtual private network
- DDoS protection
- Content management systems
You have to strike a balance between the prices you charge and your company’s capabilities. Another factor to consider is the ability to grow at a reasonable cost. If your SaaS business expands quickly, your hosting provider will need to provide additional computing resources to keep up with the demand. The pricing structure of your SaaS provider needs to be viewed in light of this fact.
Hostnats is one of the best web hosts because it offers all the essential features at a reasonable cost. Using scalable hosting solutions, you can expand your business without worrying about running out of space. Your SaaS applications will be hosted on a solid hosting platform.
2. Scalability & Performance
When deciding on a SaaS hosting provider, you should keep scalability and performance in mind. The SaaS network’s reliability and speed can be judged by these factors. SaaS providers should have multiple data centers located around the world to ensure that their company has the ability to grow at a rapid pace.
If you follow these steps, you, your company, and your users will have easy access to your application. The more traffic your SaaS hosting provider sees, the more resources you’ll need, and the lower your costs will be for serving that traffic. Scalable SaaS resources are therefore a requirement for the development of your company. There’s no need to say that a “one size fits all” approach won’t work here, as your company has specific requirements. Hybrid and custom SaaS hosting solutions should be available from your provider.
3. Security & Privacy
For business owners who use SaaS to host their applications, data privacy is a major concern. Your SaaS application is more vulnerable to cyberattacks than traditional software. It is the vendor’s responsibility to eliminate cyber threats in conventionally licensed software. For on-premises applications, the customer is responsible for setting up and maintaining a secure network and infrastructure. In the cloud, however, both the service provider and the customer are jointly responsible for maintaining data security.
Your SaaS hosting provider should take at least three measures to protect your data.
Infrastructure: Your hosting provider must ensure that every point of connection between providers is correctly initiated and consistently maintained in order to confirm higher security.
Network: Network security ensures that whenever someone accesses your software via SaaS, that connection is secure.
This factor can be reviewed by security experts.
Application & Software: SaaS security features must ensure that your hosted software and applications are not vulnerable to security threats.
4. Service Level Agreement
A SaaS hosting service ensures that your business is accessible online.
As a result, even a minor hiccup in your service can result in customers abandoning your site and a drop in sales.
The SaaS platform must have an SLA or service level agreement in order to avoid any future problems. Ensure that your SaaS hosting provider’s agreement specifies all of your requirements, demands, and needs.
In the event of downtime, your SaaS provider will have the proper mechanisms in place to ensure that your visitors aren’t inconvenienced.
The agreement will also include details about your company’s other requirements, such as:
- Your vendor offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
- 24/7, 365-days-a-year on-site security guards
- Support from a SaaS hosting provider is available around the clock.
- Documentation and support are critical.
- In the event of an outage or failure, specific penalties are imposed as compensation.
- Analysis tools that are accurate enough to deliver reports on the performance metrics
- When necessary, tailor-made solutions.
5. Budget Consideration
The final factor to consider is how much money you have available to pay your SaaS hosting provider’s bills.
Some of your own decisions can help you save money, such as:
- Consider reorganizing your business needs and demands if you have less money.
- Choosing a SaaS hosting provider is a good option if your startup hasn’t yet reached the point of no return.
Essential Tips to Keep in Mind
Customers may lose control of your application if your SaaS provider releases a new application, or customers may have a difficult time switching SaaS hosting providers or vendors if issues beyond their control arise.
To be on the safe side, follow the advice in this article. However, that’s not the end of the storyline. There are a few other things to consider if you’re a SaaS customer.
Your SaaS hosting provider should be well-known and have a long history of successfully implementing hosting services without any issues, such as higher downtime. The service provider must have a history of satisfied customers in the past.
Finding a reputable SaaS hosting provider can be as simple as keeping an eye on the latest social media trends and reading customer reviews.
Ensure that your SaaS hosting provider has the technical expertise to support your company’s growth. Make sure that your SaaS hosting provider is using the right technologies, and that your future technology needs are considered.
Compliance is a must for any business. Because of this, your SaaS hosting provider should be PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and other certified.
Conclusion
Traditional on-premise software hosting models have already been outperformed by SaaS.
There’s no doubt that SaaS can help your application grow, profit, and expand, but finding the right SaaS hosting provider can be a difficult task.
Competitiveness is high in the SaaS host market.
To entice you to become a customer, many service providers are offering generous discounts.
You should go over the advice in this article one last time before putting your hosting plan into action.
