Many companies have already switched to SaaS solutions or integrated them into daily use. With the help of the SaaS model, implementing a new software product can exceed 7 hours, while some time ago, it could take up to 57 hours.
By adopting SaaS, you can benefit from cloud computing, which speeds up the development process and enables companies to bring new capabilities to the market around 20-40% faster. The automation allows cloud-native organizations to release code into production hundreds of times daily. Many long-existing major companies have already switched to the SaaS model. Microsoft, Adobe, and Google are among them. There are several ways to integrate SaaS solutions to another app or computer system so that they can function together and automatically exchange data.
One of the most beneficial of SaaS is the flexible architecture to meet most of the business requirements and give customers the services they opt for. Different architecture types give you different levels of control over infrastructure, data and abilities to customize. SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) model also gives you scalability and customization. It allows you to deliver services to your customers anytime and anywhere without special hardware or software.
Let’s find out what SaaS architecture is and why more and more companies go from on-premises to cloud applications.
What is SaaS architecture?
SaaS architecture is a software delivery method when a vendor on a remote server hosts an organization’s application. The capabilities are delivered to the users of the app through the Internet. Various companies can use a single model and configuration. They share the same hardware, network, operation system operating system, and other components by accessing the same hosted application. The vendor deals with tech issues, such as hardware, data storage, updates, and infrastructure security.
Software engineers may additionally employ APIs (Application Programming Interface) to meet software requirements and customize the SaaS. For the users, the application works upon subscription plans that can differ in price depending on the complexity of the tools they want to access. There is no need to buy the full version or install it on a specific device.
On-premises vs. SaaS architecture
Hosting a third-party application utilizing on-premises architecture requires local hardware or a data center. All the technical requirements for the app are your responsibility, as well as infrastructure design and development.
While SaaS architecture doesn’t require building an infrastructure from scratch and fixing issues, as the vendor fulfills those tasks himself, the team can focus on developing features of your application and maintaining them based on users’ feedback.
There are several advantages of adopting SaaS Architecture:
- all the backend infrastructure is the responsibility of the vendor, so you don’t need to maintain it;
- the data within SaaS is stored on remote servers and automatic backups are part of Saas architecture, so even if your local hardware fails, you won’t lose the data;
- SaaS architecture provides scalability, as SaaS platforms provide you with on-demand scaling compute resources. You don’t need additional hardware to enlarge your customer base;
- vendors use advanced cloud technologies and release a thoroughly tested product, so you can deliver services without worrying about bugs, resolving issues, or performing a complicated deployment.
Types of SaaS architecture
SaaS architecture differs according to industry, tenancy model and software category.
Vertical and Horizontal SaaS
Vertical SaaS targets a specific niche and is mainly used in healthcare, real estate, agriculture, finance, logistics, retail, and many more industries. It’s quite a new phenomenon. Instead of covering all product categories, vertical SaaS focuses on specific industry verticals and covers their particular needs. It offers different services and functionalities for a single industry, bringing even more value, as one organization can depend on a single app.
The horizontal SaaS apps are functionality oriented and operate in any industry. It meets the business requirements and offers functionalities used in almost every field, such as marketing, sales, management, or communication.
Single-tenant, Multi-tenant and Mixed-tenant Architecture
Every customer of the SaaS platform is called a tenant and depending on the tenancy model, the architecture can vary. Each tenant is granted access rights after subscription.
There is a Single-tenant, Multi-tenant and Mixed-tenant Architecture.
In a single-tenancy architecture, the application’s components, as an application itself, serve a single customer, while in a multi-tenant model, the SaaS app and its framework serve multiple tenants. Within the multi-tenancy model, each tenant uses two parts of the application and shares the rest of the components, such as instances or databases.
Best practices to implement SaaS architecture
SaaS architecture is a cost-effective, scalable solution for building progressive software. Several practices will allow you to leverage this environment:
Use microservice architecture
Microservices allow you to structurize different applications into sets of data and services. It helps you to deploy, write, test, and patch each service separately. If you aim for growth, microservers will make later changes easier. The teams can work with each service independently, use different coding languages or deploy on other infrastructures. Thus you can isolate problem areas and don’t need to stop the operations or make changes to the entire application.
Each of your microservices can focus on a particular business offering. For example, in Netflix, several microservices are responsible for different functionality, like billing, movie recommendations, adaptation to the device, etc.
Enable customization
Give your customers the tools to customize SaaS solutions according to their requirements without needing to hire a specialist or write the code. You can empower your architecture with APIs, provide the documentation and allow users to integrate other necessary tools that they already use.
Secure the data
One of the biggest concerns of adopting SaaS architecture is data security and potential losses in case of data breaches.
To prevent security issues, use Role-Based Access Control in which users can access the data that corresponds to them by role in an organization. The role can be assigned according to the job position and authority or may contain administrators, contractors, vendors and end-users.
Use a multi-tenant model
Develop a multi-tenant architecture to utilize your resources to the full. But remember that if your user’s workload uses significant resources, you may consider a single-tenant model, as it may drastically influence the user experience of other tenants.
There are two approaches to multi-tenant architecture. One refers to using one app instance and several databases. The users enter different databases at the same time, and new users are redirected to another database only when the previous one is filled to a certain amount. It gives your application faster scalability, responsiveness and gives your users more resources, though it needs more investments from the start as more resources are allocated.
The other approach is based on using one database and one app instance, where the users enter the same database and are redirected to the new one as soon as the previous one is filled. This variant is less costly, and takes less time. Though it might limit the scaling, influencing the app’s performance.
Monitor spending within your SaaS application
While multi-tenant architecture is a cost-effective solution, its costs may increase as the quantity of user increase. Sometimes it isn’t very easy to keep track, as one database manages multiple tenant’s data.
After some time, your SaaS architecture can go beyond your margins and monitoring the cost of SaaS will prevent it.
Make scalability a part of the plan
The companies generate a lof data, queries and transactions and your SaaS application will eventually attract more users. Be ready to scale and process the high load, keeping your performance on a stable level. Make sure from the very beginning that your SaaS architecture will be able to scale horizontally and vertically.
Minimize the downtime
Service outages and downtime are not something your users seek with your SaaS product. Make sure your tools are powerful enough to avoid this, and you can deliver good service. It includes the tested updates and responses to the clients if they need assistance resolving any issues.
Take into account compliance issues
If you are building a vertical SaaS architecture and the industry you work in has specific compliance regulations, build them into your SaaS. Such regulations as General Data Protection Regulation are applied to any niche, so it is mandatory that your SaaS complies with them.
Ensure standard APIs integration
Prevent your tenants from vendor lock-in concerns. The situation may occur if the tenant wants to move to another platform, but it will cost him too much assets or effort, so he is stuck with a particular provider.
To avoid this, make standard integration APIs available in your SaaS application. Your users may utilize other SaaS applications to connect the solutions, adding new capabilities instead of changing the vendor.
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