Software as a Service or SaaS is a software model in which a cloud provider delivers applications over the internet, as a service. SaaS has been the biggest growing market lately as more and more companies are looking for SaaS-based solutions. Companies prefer working with SaaS vendors who help indirectly access software through the Internet, rather than engaging their own workforce in complex software and hardware installation protocols. However, SaaS vendors must carefully select the right tools to create a favorable technology stack for their SaaS product.
The technology stack is a combination of tools, services, programming languages, and platforms used to develop and maintain a product or business. Selecting the right combination of technologies to build your SaaS product is extremely crucial to its success, as it establishes a foundation that defines the entire development process.
Here are some factors to consider when creating a technology stack for your SaaS product
New-age technology is very dynamic and brings revolutionary changes. It is recommended to always opt for scalable tools for your SaaS technology stack because every company wants their SaaS product such as Scalefusion Android device management software to be used by a wide range of audiences. To achieve this, companies need to understand the nuances of tool scalability.
Outlining product requirements, target timelines, and a long-term view can go a long way in determining scalability requirements that help decide on the optimal technology stack requirements.
For example, "Angular" is a great framework if you want to target a large number of users and build a heavy application. On the other hand, if your goal is to provide a great user experience in a lightweight application without significant scaling in the future, "React" is a good choice.
The front-end is the user side of your SaaS product, which makes proper design and interface essential. Some of the popular front-end technologies are;
By using commonly available frameworks like Bootstrap among many others, you can give your SaaS product the desired structure, design, and interactive elements.
One of the most crucial factors is the backend programming that supports the operation of the product. These are codes that allow web browsers to communicate with servers and databases to make the product work properly.
Typically, technology stacks for SaaS development include one or more of the following JavaScript (NodeJS, MeteorJS, ExpressJS), PHP (Laravel, CodeIgniter), Ruby (Ruby on Rails), Python (Django, Flask)
and Scala (play).
At the center of a latest SaaS product technology stack is an efficient and scalable database. Selecting and designing the right database is a crucial factor for the future of the product.
Depending on the nature of the service you provide, databases can be designed to operate either as self-managed or fully managed. A self-managed database gives the user the authority to control features, while a fully managed database retains authority with the vendor. Additionally, an SQL or non-SQL database can be critical depending on the product.
Having a multi-tenant SaaS product or saas rule allows you to use a single software instance to serve multiple users. In this case, users have a shared database, however, each user's data is specifically available to the respective user. The multi-tenant structure has the upper hand over the single-tenant architecture as it enables lower operating costs, better resource utilization, and easier maintenance and upgrade.
Multi-tenancy is particularly recommended when the intended target market consists of freelancers and SMEs.
All of the programming effort required to develop a SaaS product has to be done somewhere. Since the dawn of cloud computing, companies prefer to run their codes and programs on cloud platforms. It is essential to select a redundant and highly scalable cloud service in your technology stack with long-term scalability goals in mind.
Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud are some of the most acclaimed cloud service providers adopted by businesses worldwide.
Having a well-suited technology stack with the right combination of tools allows SaaS developers to build the product hassle-free and enables a competitive advantage in the market. A poorly designed technology stack leads to an operational collapse generating the need to improve the technologies used. Once a tech stack is built, replacing it with a new one is costly. Therefore, it is imperative to design a technology stack that is easy to start, durable and well scalable once the product finds its market.
