Constructing a house from the ground up takes an ample amount of time and effort. If you’re going to build the home of your dreams, you need to make sure that you have the resources to get it done.
The same goes for mobile applications for your business – without the time, effort and money to put into the development process, the end result can be lackluster. But this doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. Many companies choose to create native applications for business purposes and stand by their decision.
That being said, it’s nice to know that there are other options aside from constructing a custom app from scratch, such as Software As A Service (SaaS). SaaS can give professionals the tools they need to utilize documents and data in a secure cloud, regardless of their location. Additionally, SaaS can be easily modified and maintained, and many SaaS offerings are now built with native functionality on multiple OSs, such as iOS for iPad and Windows 8.
The growing demand for SaaS
There are numerous benefits behind opting for SaaS that have more people turning in this direction. Aside from cloud accessibility and simplified maintenance, these types of apps are now often customizable. This means that users can design them to look like they were made in-house with company colors and logos.
SaaS doesn’t just help those in sales, either. Marketing teams, for instance, can get a large amount of usage out of these applications, and customer accounts can be managed more efficiently.
For many companies, the bottom line comes down time and money. Forrester Research has found that developing an app can total up to $150,000–and that’s only for native development on a single platform. This doesn’t take into account the amount of money that will have to be spent on routine updates and bug fixes. Some businesses may feel more comfortable outsourcing the development of a native app (or even doing it in house if they have the technical resources), and having a hefty budget can make the choice easier. However, there are still pros and cons to be taken into consideration before going one route or the other.
Do you want to hunt for your dream house or build it from scratch? It helps to know what you’re getting into before you dive in.
