The digitization of society has created the need for connected systems and devices. With this in mind, business owners who are always on the go need to leverage connected devices for their business needs.
Here is where SaaS partnerships come in. This enables them to keep track of things and ensure their customers can access their products or services anywhere.
The smartphone has become more or less like a basic human need in the twenty-first century. Whether you are a team member, employer, or business owner, you still need access to other gadgets such as the laptop, smartwatches, and other smart devices.
You have to stay connected across these platforms, and a SaaS partnership could help your business with that. SaaS (Software as a Service) is a cloud computing model of software distribution that allows a cloud provider to host applications and make end users interact with them over the internet.
The cloud provider could still be the software vendor or work independently of each other. Some SaaS solutions include Mailchimp (the email marketing system), Dropbox for file sharing, WordPress, and Salesforce.
What is a SaaS partner?
Partnerships are essential for businesses to expand, fill growth gaps, and offer better experiences for their customers and subscribers. The partnerships occur between two companies that work under mutual terms.
Regarding SaaS partnerships, two separate businesses come together, where one partner is looking for additional resources to help them grow.
More specifically, companies could be looking to increase their revenue or find other growth opportunities. A SaaS partner incentivizes businesses that use their services for more business opportunities and deliver new leads.
Thanks to the numerous SaaS platforms based on the cloud, your business is better off working with an established SaaS partner. You will have the freedom and flexibility to focus on other aspects of the business.
Choosing the perfect SaaS partner
Multiple factors could influence your decision to choose the perfect SaaS partner. However, three stand out and are listed below.
1. Economic factors
Is the SaaS partnership you want to invest in economically viable? Does it have the potential to give you returns in the short term? If the potential partner can answer the two questions satisfactorily, then you have a deal.
However, this may not be an issue for you if you have a reasonable budget to spend. You also might want to check out the digital platforms they are active on so you don't miss out on their services.
2. Technological factors
You want to invest in a SaaS partner that has technologically sound products. Check the particulars of the products they are offering. How long have they been around in the market?
Ideally, your potential SaaS partner should have invested in technological and artificial intelligence sound systems that will give you an edge to make your business innovative and competitive.
3. Social factors
What are your company values? You want to look for a SaaS partner who has more or less similar values as your company or business. The SaaS partnership you choose directly correlates with your values as a business and as a person.
Values such as transparency, reliability, trust, and loyalty cannot be underestimated. Is your SaaS partner coming in only for the money, or do they have the values you will be comfortable partnering with?
Once you have analyzed your potential SaaS partners through the three mentioned parameters, it's time to hit the road. You can then discover what SaaS partner will be a good fit for your business.
Qualities to look for in a SaaS partner program
When looking for the ideal software as a service partner, you want to check them against a list of parameters we highlight below.
1. Check if their product offering is real
Beware of counterfeit SaaS products being advertised as real SaaS solutions. When assessing the SaaS product, ensure that it's running on a browser because all of its applications are typically cloud-hosted.
You may second guess your SaaS investment at times. This includes when the prospective SaaS partner asks you to install special client software on your end-user's computers.
2. Check the details of their service-level agreement (SLA)
A service-level agreement by a SaaS partner is vital for your business partnership since it determines what services your clients will receive. There should be a clear statement on the consequences of their failed actions should they not live up to their expectations. You don't want your business to become inconvenienced because of short outage times.
What misunderstandings is the SLA not capturing, and how will they be addressed? For instance, your service provider may not be available during your business operating hours because of time differences. How will they address such a scenario? The SLA has to state what the SaaS vendor will do if they fail to live up to their expectations.
3. See if the SaaS vendor offers any exit options
What happens to your SaaS partnership if your business changes strategy, files for bankruptcy, or goes through new mergers and acquisitions? Can you exit the SaaS partnership easily, or will you have to pass through some exit bottlenecks because of being locked in?
Look for a SaaS partner that will give you an easy exit option when you decide to part ways with them. Your SaaS partner should state from the onset what an exit will look like. Will they export all your data? Or are they going to keep some parts of your data? This should be clearly stated to avoid violation of data policies.
4. What SaaS support standards and help procedure are your potential partner offering?
Every SaaS partner will promise you world-class support, but things could quickly go south when you become a paying customer. You want to first go for a trial account or fill support tickets to gauge their support standards and help procedures.
What are their help procedures? Are your users directly linked to the SaaS provider help desk, or are tickets solved in an ascending manner through escalation?
Conclusion
Software as a Service partnerships are vital if you want to take your business to the next level. They offer you innovative solutions for your business products and services. That means you should be keen on looking for a SaaS partner to get the best cooperation for your business needs. We hope you now have what it takes to land the next best SaaS vendor.
