SaaS or Software-as-a-Service solutions are cloud-based applications accessible through an internet browser. Unlike traditional software, you don’t need to download and install a SaaS application to your device. You can just go to the software’s website and log in to access it.
Apart from being easily accessible, SaaS solutions are affordable, too. Most B2B SaaS applications charge on a subscription model, which means you pay only for the benefits you choose.
Thanks to all these advantages, SaaS software brands are growing rapidly globally. In fact, Statista projects that the global SaaS market will be worth over $330 billion by the end of 2024.
Therefore, if you plan to develop and sell a B2B SaaS application, there’s no better time than now! This blog post will explain the simple stages of developing B2B SaaS applications.
Get. Set. Go.
Stages of B2B SaaS application development
Developing a SaaS application isn’t difficult if you have a set roadmap.
Suppose you want to build project management software for agencies and freelancers. Here are the stages to follow:
Research the target market
Before starting a B2B SaaS software development process, you must identify your value proposition. For example, in the above situation, plenty of successful project management solutions are already available in the market for agencies and freelancers. Why would anyone buy your tool?
You need to conduct in-depth market research to find the answer to this question. Talk to agencies and freelancers 1:1, conduct surveys, and closely observe existing tools to identify:
- Where is the gap in the existing tools?
- What are the struggles of your target audiences?
- What do they want to achieve from your tool?
These could be in terms of features, pricing, or any other benefit. Once you have understood these pain points and documented them in detail, it becomes easier to proceed with the product design and development stages.
Create product design
In this stage, you need to answer the following questions:
- What type of architecture will be best to build scalable software?
- What kind of security measures will you use?
- Which third-party app integrations will be most beneficial for your target users?
- What elements will your user and admin dashboards feature?
- What kind of automation features will the tool offer?
Develop, test, and optimize
The next stage can be broadly segmented into three aspects:
Development of the software
To develop your SaaS solution, your focus should be on:
- Selecting the coding language and framework
- Identifying an appropriate cloud hosting platform
- Following the stages of the software development lifecycle to convert the product design into a full-blown solution
- Implementing databases and API
- Maintaining a code repository
Testing the software
Once the software is developed, it goes to the testing team. The testing team performs quality assurance tests including stability, stress and load, interoperability, security etc. The goal is to identify any operational defects in this stage and fix it before launching the product.
Optimizing the software for users
Finally, once the product is ready, optimize it for the users. In this case, optimizing the project management software for agencies would mean:
- Self-sign-up and onboarding flows along with product tutorials
- Creating simple user experience and navigation to empower the users
- Helping users to make the most of the tool with comprehensive resources (Think of HubSpot Academy)
- Providing personalized incentives or custom features for long-lasting users
In-house or outsource?
Ideating, designing, developing, and deploying B2B SaaS applications is time and cost intensive. If you are a lean team or just don’t have the need to hire a team rapidly in-house, collaborate with a dedicated software development agency like NorthMetric. For over 15 years, our team has gained extensive experience working with small SaaS teams on web and mobile applications.
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