In the last ten years, cloud computing has gone from being a good idea to being the basis of many businesses. The idea of cloud computing has been around since 1963, when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which was the forerunner of the internet, paid for the first “cloud” computer to be built. However, businesses have only recently realized the full potential of the cloud and started to use it.
Now, 50% of companies say that between 31% and 60% of their IT systems are based in the cloud. More than a third of all IT spending around the world goes toward building the infrastructure for cloud computing.
One of the main reasons for this evolution is the growth of software as a service or a SaaS product, which let companies pay a subscription fee instead of buying equipment, staff, and training to use a product or access a service. In order to offer these kinds of services, cloud computing has grown a lot in the last ten years.
Unlike other cloud-based services like infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and desktop as a service (DaaS), SaaS lets companies access fully functional applications on-demand without having to worry about complicated configurations or how to scale.
Some other companies, on the other hand, are making more money by using SaaS solutions instead of migrating an existing solution or making their own cloud-based apps.
Every Industry gets unique benefits from SaaS product
Still, each industry looks at the benefits in a different way and figures out how to use the cloud in its own way.
The idea of switching to SaaS has been around for more than 30 years, but it wasn’t until the 2000s that web-based technology started to help.
Today, SaaS is an alternative way to deploy IT that is cheaper and doesn’t require the business owner to build their own infrastructure or hire a professional team to do it for them.
Even though all of these ways to use the cloud are important, we’ll focus on why SaaS and the cloud have become so popular and what that means for businesses of all sizes in this article.
Cost-effective and does not require a large investment
One of the main factors responsible for the growth of cloud computing and SaaS products is cost, and it encompasses many of the other elements that have made these developments so appealing to small and large businesses alike.
The SaaS module is pay-as-you-go, with no large upfront fees and only monthly or yearly subscription fees.
This option is best suited to mid-sized businesses because they are more cautious with their investments.
However, when you consider the costs of purchasing the necessary hardware, as well as hiring and managing resources to maintain it all, SaaS adoption is a lower cost option.
Most marketing campaigns must struggle to create useful and engaging content that converts prospects to customers and builds a strong customer base. Marketers must automate a number of tasks when running a marketing campaign, such as emailing and social media.
This is where marketing automation technology comes into play. Marketers can use cloud-based marketing automation to plan, execute, and, most importantly, track the results of their marketing campaigns.
Keep in mind that automation has the potential to disrupt the level of personalization that is so important in today’s digital world. That is why you must be cautious about what and how much you automate.
The graph below depicts the increasing success of marketing automation over time.
Ease of Scalability
The SaaS model can easily and quickly scale up without extensive request and testing, as well as without changing the mechanism structure and installing additional software.
The same process applies to any additional service or storage concerns. This is precisely why industries are shifting to the SaaS model.
Are You a Contributor in the Revolution?
According to Gartner, the cloud market will grow 17.3 percent in 2019. SaaS is expected to grow 17.8 percent. On top of that, there are numerous other advantages we haven’t mentioned, such as scalability, integrations, regular and less expensive software updates, and less time spent on software installations and other technical updates.
While SaaS and the cloud have their own set of challenges, they are at least well defined. User error and overall security are issues that can be addressed with proper training, multi-factor authentication, and adhering to development best practices. Managing cloud spend and governance has become the top priority for organizations; however, long-standing challenges such as cloud migration and having access to the appropriate resources and expertise have decreased. As cloud computing and SaaS become more common, the barriers they present, as well as the benefits they bring, will shift. Regardless, these developments are clearly making waves in the tech community. And, while the cloud and SaaS aren’t a panacea, the possibilities and benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.