SaaS or bespoke software? Or simply both!

What is SaaS?

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a model in which software is delivered over the internet and hosted by a service provider. Users pay a subscription fee to access the software, which is maintained and updated by the supplier. This model has radically changed the way companies use and manage software. In effect you contribute, along with all other users, a little towards the development and management of the SaaS product, and the supplier earns money from it. That often makes acquisition and management costs lower, but it limits the bespoke options you have. You have to go along with the SaaS organisation's development strategy, as it were, and that organisation sets its course on the wishes of all users and not only yours. 

How SaaS solutions can solve business problems

Imagine your company runs into a problem in its operations. Think of managing your leads and customers, or organising a specific working process such as HR or communications. In that case SaaS solutions such as Hubspot, Microsoft Business Central or Mailchimp can offer an answer. These tools have developed software to tackle specific challenges within organisations that all organisations share. Hubspot, for instance, is a CRM system in which you can easily manage your leads and customers. And Microsoft Business Central offers an ERP solution with which you can arrange your financial and business processes. Every SaaS product focuses on a slightly different part, a different challenge, or has slightly different nuances. But in general the essence is the same: SaaS suppliers are there for the large part of the market that experiences this problem, but to a lesser extent for your specific challenges. So you can probably cover a large part of your processes with it, but you will also notice that your business has unique processes that do not fit the SaaS solution well.

SaaS products are often easy to integrate with your existing systems. That is because SaaS suppliers know they deliver only a partial solution within your company's entire digital ecosystem, one that is placed in a chain of digital activities. SaaS can also be connected well to bespoke software. 

The advantages of SaaS for companies:

SaaS offers plenty of advantages for companies, such as:

1. Low (start-up) costs: No need for expensive hardware and initial investment. On top of that, the subscription model makes monthly spend very easy to predict. 
2. Fast implementation: SaaS can be operational within days or weeks.
3. Easy to scale: Companies can easily adjust their usage to their needs without making large investments.
4. Always reliable and up to date: Suppliers take care of automatic (security) updates, uptime guarantees and new features. Often at no extra cost to the user. That way you need less time and fewer resources for IT management. 
5. Accessibility: Access from any location with an internet connection, ideal for remote working.

So when is bespoke software the best solution?

Sometimes the software solutions currently on the market do not meet your company's specific demands, requirements or processes. Perhaps the workflows are unique, or special functionality is needed that existing software does not cover. This is where bespoke software comes into the picture. Bespoke software works well as a ‘shell’ around SaaS products or other existing software, connecting the two. In that bespoke environment your organisation can then add the specific requirements needed to make the software fit your business processes or ambitions seamlessly. 

The advantages of bespoke software

Take a large organisation with very specific customer relationship management needs. That organisation goes looking on the market for a fitting solution, but cannot find a standard product that meets its specific requirements. In that case bespoke software is needed, which can be tailored entirely to the company's needs. You then start a fundamentally different process. You do not buy what exists and adapt it; instead you really get to work describing your unique requirements functionally and designing a fitting solution around them. During the exploratory phase it can be examined whether parts of the software architecture can consist of SaaS products. The functional requirements that remain can then be developed in a bespoke software application. Developing bespoke software has a number of advantages:

1. Room for specific functionality: All functionality can be tailored specifically to the unique needs and processes of the business. So no concessions have to be made.
2. A unique character compared to the competition: Bespoke software offers unique application and a user experience that matches your company's vision, which sets you apart from the competition.
3. Fully integrable: It is bespoke, so it can be integrated seamlessly with existing systems and processes. With SaaS products that is not always possible, for instance because an integration with a third system does not exist yet.
4. User experience: A better user experience, because the software is optimised for a specific group of users, which results in higher productivity and satisfaction.
5. Ownership and scalability: The software is designed to grow with the business and to be highly flexible in use. You have full control over that. So it can move easily with changing business needs.