SaaS E-Book Review

by Noel Jerke  (Author)
Format: Kindle Edition

Modern times, mainly the post-2000s era, have been focused on the use of technology and various types of software. From households to businesses, technology has become an essential element without which we cannot function in an optimal manner. Software as a Service is one such element of technology that has rapidly taken importance. Software as a Service (SaaS) can be defined as a licensing and delivery model of software.

Different companies can purchase a subscription to various forms of software that are hosted by another technology company. In the tech industry, this has become a major business with several softwares supporting various industries. SaaS is a form of on-demand software. 

While SaaS may seem quite straightforward from the information provided above, it is not actually as easy to understand and learn. As a matter of fact, there are various applications, uses, benefits, drawbacks, and wider scope of knowledge that most people don’t know. If you are reading just a regular book, you may see different types of jargon and technical terms that are difficult to understand. For readers who don’t have any idea about SaaS but want to learn more about it in an easy manner, they can read this book on SaaS which covers a great detail about the book. 

Structure of the Book

The structure of the book is quite sophisticated and easy to understand which is why readers can easily comprehend it. There are a total of 6 Chapters that answer the fundamental questions any person would have about SaaS. The chapters answer “What”, “When”, “Who”, “Where”, “Why”, and “How”. For instance, if you want to know more about the history of SaaS and important timelines in the development of this technology, you can refer to “Chapter 2: When”. Similarly, if you want to know more about why SaaS has become increasingly important over the past few years, simply head over to Chapter 5: Why which will provide you with all the answers. 

The overall structure of this book is ideal for an amateur and basic reader. The book begins with an overview of SaaS technology and how it came along, historically. The second part of the book provides information on the application of SaaS and some of the most notable contributions toward SaaS and the key players of the market. The last part provides an analytical approach and provides reasoning on the usage of SaaS along with its future scope. It also provides the readers with an idea about how to position yourself in the SaaS market, grow and scale, as well as clear out the numerous misconceptions and myths about the SaaS market. 

Chapter 1 and 2: What and When?

A CD and pack with the word “Software” on themThe writer begins this book with a straightforward definition of Software as a Service along with its branches and sub-branches. The writer grabs the interest of the readers by providing research-based evidence on the importance of SaaS for the coming era. Some of the main points discussed in the first chapter of this book include the application of SaaS for businesses, SaaS applications access, SaaS Architecture, and a comparison between SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. Upon reading the first chapter, the readers will already have an idea about the fundamental knowledge and main ideology behind SaaS as well as its types, applications, and usage that has helped in increasing its users globally. 

One thing we know right from the beginning of this eBook is that it has been written recently which means it will have updated information. Therefore, it already has some plus points compared to the books which have been written a long way back. 

“Google Docs, Dropbox, Slack, and Microsoft Teams are some examples of SaaS collaborative software. This category has gained a lot of traction in the recent past, particularly after COVID-19, resulting in more people working from home.”

(eBook Excerpt)

The second chapter of the book highlights the time factor associated with the use of SaaS applications. It is focused on the History of SaaS, the Present of SaaS, and how the future of SaaS is going to revolutionize the tech industry and modern businesses as well. The writer has provided a timeline that ranges from Pre-SaaS Computing Era to several Important Milestones covered to date. From the first SaaS company to modern-day usage and applications, this chapter unfolds the important dates, and years in which significant improvement was noticed in the SaaS technology. 

Chapter 3 and 4: Who and Where?

Multiple types of Saas applications 

One of the most important pieces of information out there in this book is right in the middle of it. Chapter 3 highlights the importance of SaaS in the tech market by highlighting the biggest players in the industry as well as some of the top applications provided by these companies. Upon reading this chapter, the reader actually realizes the idea that we are using so many SaaS applications in our everyday routine without even realizing it. The writer has discussed key players which include Adobe, SalesForce, Oracle, Intuit, Shopify, SAP, ServiceNow, SnowFlake, Atlassian, Square, Autodesk, and Zoom. All of these makeup over $2 trillion worth of market. Combining the small players, the market for SaaS becomes even bigger. These numbers provide useful insights to the readers as well as allow them to understand SaaS in an even better manner. 

According to a report published on Statista, the SaaS market size doubled to $157 billion in 2020 compared to that of 2014. This exponential growth can be attributed to different factors, including innovation in hardware and software, increased demand, decreasing costs, and better internet accessibility.

(eBook Excerpt)

Chapter 4 is all about the scope of SaaS in the modern world. It discusses “Where” SaaS technology is being used. Numerous modules are discussed by the writer including Human Resource Management Solutions, Customer Relationship Management Solutions, Project Management, Communication and Collaboration, Content Management Systems, Enterprise Resource Management Systems, and much more. 

Chapter 5: Why?

A key question related to SaaS is its purpose of it, and various reasons as to why this technology has grown so much over the past few years. This is yet again one of the most important chapters about SaaS because not only does it highlight the benefits of SaaS technology but also highlights the drawbacks of SaaS. The writer provides a thorough explanation of why this technology is considered ideal by a few while others seem to be against it. This gives the readers an idea about the good and bad. This part of the book is more directly toward the concept of SaaS.

A few of the benefits of SaaS as discussed by the writer include the low upfront cost of application of SaaS, higher chances of scalability and flexibility, maintenance-free after its initial set-up, cross-platform compatibility, application integration, adaptability, and service-level guarantees, and secure performance as well. All of these benefits have actually resulted in the increase in usage of SaaS. 

“Cloud providers have improved significantly in recent years when it comes to security. SaaS deployments have an added benefit of reduced operational risk and offer better auditability and business continuity.”

“… General compliance certificates help ensure security and compliance. Security benefits of SaaS include continuous and automated security management, auto-detection of compromised accounts, and data loss prevention.”

(eBook Excerpt)

While the benefits of SaaS outweigh the drawbacks, they cannot be entirely neglected. As a matter of fact, some of these drawbacks are restricting the growth of SaaS applications beyond a limit. Some of the key drawbacks of SaaS, as highlighted by the writer, include limited control over the applications, numerous existing security challenges as well as the emerging ones, SaaS compliance challenges, performance issues and bugs, application limitation to an extent, contractual obligations, data mobility, and limited customization as well. Some of the top providers of SaaS applications are already working on reducing these drawbacks. 

Not all SaaS providers comply with local and international standards, while some only comply partially.

Performance and latency issues can arise if the data centers are located far away from the users.

Many SaaS providers have policies in place that make it difficult to migrate data to another provider by locking customers into their standards and protocols.

(eBook Excerpt)

Chapter 6: How?

Saas illustration 

The last chapter of this book is quite an interesting one. It engages the level of call-to-action for the readers. After thoroughly discussing the aspect of SaaS, the writer now provides an overview of the market of SaaS. It also provides the aspect of How one can enter this market, explore it, and use it to the best of their benefit as well. Different types of strategies are also discussed over here in this chapter such as competition strategy, pricing aspect, customer/target audience strategy, SaaS marketing strategy, and various ways on how SaaS applications are sold by offering transparency in pricing and contracts, free trials, easy sign-ups, special discounts, and other forms of functional access as well.  

This chapter also provides an ideology about important things anyone needs to know before signing up for any kind of SaaS application. If you are someone who often signs up for applications without reading the different terms and conditions, this chapter not only highlights their importance but also helps you understand the difference. Readers become more aware of the different types of tricks they can use to have the SaaS application for them much cheaper.

Readers can also check the myths and misconceptions about SaaS and have them debunked in this section. Truly! It is one of the most interesting parts. 

Many believe that SaaS and cloud computing are threatening the livelihoods of IT professionals. However, SaaS actually rescues them from mundane daily tasks and hassles related to managing traditional software and underlying infrastructure. Modern SaaS IT management solutions are helping them manage their IT operations more effectively, allowing them to focus more on IT tasks that really matter.

(eBook Excerpt)

General Overview of the Book

If we talk about the overall aspect of this book, it surely is a great choice if you are just a beginner or even an intermediate learner of SaaS. It starts from the basic knowledge and takes it up to an advanced level without making it difficult for the reader to understand. Being divided into multiple sections, headings, and subheadings, the readability factor of this book gets the extra marks. It also appears to be a well-researched book since it is not just based on the qualitative data rather it presents several statistical records and timelines which provide the idea that this book has been thoroughly researched, before being written. 

“A recent report by McKinsey predicts that by 2024, the market for SaaS solutions is expected to grow to a staggering $200 billion, which is a 20% growth on a year-on-year basis”

(eBook Excerpt)

There are endnotes in this eBook as well which assure the readers that this eBook is backed by authentic research. Various forms of industrial analysis, as well as market surveys, have been used to compile the research for this eBook. 

One good thing about this book is that the writer has compiled the summaries of every chapter at the end. You can get the overall idea of what was discussed and it also allows you to just read the conclusion and get the whole idea if you have read it sometime earlier. The writer has discussed every aspect of this eBook in a neutral manner. There isn’t any form of overly convincing writing tone or persuasive towards the readers. Besides, one of the chapters also mentions the benefits and drawbacks of the SaaS technology which again proves the point of neutrality in this eBook. 

This eBook is definitely a great buy and highly recommended. You can buy it off Amazon.com.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, this eBook is for all those who are interested in learning about SaaS technology from scratch. It takes the riders from a basic idea to a great level of knowledge. It helps the readers understand SaaS in a friendly and engaging manner. With the use of real-world examples, it becomes quite convenient to grasp the different types of concepts as well.