Software as a Service, popularly acknowledged as SaaS, is a cloud-based service where instead of downloading the software in your desktop or business network to run and update, you instead access an application via an internet browser. The software application could be anything from office software, messaging software, payroll processing service, DBMS software, management software, CAD software, development software, among others. According to Statista, the cloud market’s value is projected to reach $354.6 billion by the end of 2022. This increasing demand indicates that businesses are gradually moving from traditional installable software to innovative SaaS applications.
The key reasons for SaaS’s growing popularity are its flexibility, scalability, and affordability.
Here, our discourse will delve into popular SaaS companies, their applications, and different technical perspectives on their offerings.
Salesforce.com
Salesforce.com is an eminent name in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software world. Not only does Salesforce provide an array of benefits such as managing customer interactions, accessing business information, automating sales, managing customer support, and facilitating collaborations but also allows the customizing of these features according to one’s business needs. The backbone of Salesforce lies in the Apex programming language that not only supports simple data manipulation and flow control but also fully supports complex transformational language, object-oriented procedural code, and more.
Slack
Slack is an enabler of business communication featuring IRC-style presence, chat rooms categorized by topic, private groups, and direct messaging. Slack’s technology stack relies on Electron and React for its desktop application, while its Android team uses Kotlin over Java for its modern syntax. On the server end, they use PHP/Hack for most of their server-based application logic.
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud is a one-stop solution for creative professionals. From Photoshop to Illustrator to Adobe XD, Adobe Creative Cloud covers a plethora of software under its banner. The Adobe Creative Cloud leverages Adobe CreativeSync technology, which keeps everything you create and save in the apps up-to-date and accessible anywhere. Furthermore, it utilizes fonts from Adobe Typekit, images from Adobe Stock, tutorials, and a robust array of assets.
DocuSign
DocuSign allows individuals or businesses to sign documents electronically. It is built on the secure, scalable, and elastic AWS platform, using services such as Amazon S3 for storage and Amazon EC2 for scalable compute capacity. From a developer’s perspective, it offers REST APIs and SDKs for easy integration and development.
Conclusion
The technical structures that underpin these SaaS companies are diverse. From programming languages to structural frameworks, each company utilizes specific technologies tuned to deliver optimal results for their targeted user-base. This demonstrates that there is no one-size-fits-all in the SaaS world, but rather illustrates the importance of understanding the user’s needs and the best technical protocols that can deliver on these needs. Now as SaaS reshapes businesses worldwide, the onus is on business decision-makers to leverage this trend and on developers to meet the ever escalating technical demands. The rise of SaaS is an undeniable movement towards a more effective, efficient and versatile business future, which, despite its challenges, promises great rewards for those who dare to ride this wave.”
Glen Harrows