Achieving successful SaaS transformation – it’s all in the planning

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) use is ever-rising in organizations across the globe, with current estimates suggesting that the global SaaS market will grow from USD 317.55 billion in 2024 to USD 1,228.87 billion by 2032 (1). For independent software vendors (ISVs), transforming to SaaS could be the best business decision they ever make.

ISVs are most likely already aware of the benefits of SaaS transformation (2). However, in speaking to ISVs, we’ve learned that some benefits are more widely known than others. For example, that transformation helps expand customer reach globally or that the SaaS model, with its subscription-based pricing, offers more stability with regular recurring revenue.

But there are still some common misconceptions about what SaaS means to today’s ISV and what changes transformation will engender. SaaS modernization is not simply a technical transformation. Rather, it is a business transformation that boosts growth and innovation, while delivering what your customers want in a more efficient and expedient way.

While ISVs are aware of the effects SaaS could have on revenue, many are unaware of the costs, resources and preparation that are required for transformation. SaaS is a big undertaking, but one that can change your business for the better. To ensure you gain its full benefits, it’s important to set off on the right path – and with the right partner. This is why we developed a comprehensive seven-phase framework to fully prepare ISVs for successful SaaS transformation: the SoftwareOne Envision and Discovery advisory.

The Envision advisory session is the first phase and helps deliver a fundamental understanding of all the disciplines that support SaaS to the whole business. This includes stakeholders from across the business, such as finance, sales and marketing, as well as the technology team. The Discovery advisory sessions make up the remaining six phases. In these sessions, we examine and provide strategies for all areas of the business that moving to SaaS will bring about.

Our starting point in the Discovery phase is to gain an understanding of the ISV’s goals and long-term business objectives to inform each step of the planning process. We then use our SaaS Business Model Canvas framework to jointly develop a SaaS business strategy. This takes in every business consideration, including customers, partners, internal resources, sales channels, revenue streams and all go-to-market options.

We work with the ISV client to define their vision for a future SaaS product and outline all the necessary internal processes each client needs to adopt or modify to support the development of that product. Think product release cycles, customer onboarding and customer support.

It’s essential to get the business planning elements locked down before moving to the technical advisory. This is because with SaaS, the business strategy and all business processes inform what the technology strategy should be. Only when the business elements are complete do we then move onto looking at a proposed supporting tech setup, which is different for every ISV. To support this session, we use the ‘well-architected’ framework of the chosen hyperscaler. This is aimed at creating a high-performing, resilient, efficient and cost-optimized technology infrastructure.

Because SoftwareOne has long-held relationships with every hyperscaler, we can guide you in choosing one. We also have insights into available hyperscaler funding, which changes regularly in scope. Using this knowledge, we can help you to find the best funding program that supports your specific business and modernization requirements.

The final two phases are carried out entirely by SoftwareOne. These include an analysis to uncover any business, capability and technology gaps that need to be resolved. The final phase is the production of a detailed roadmap. The roadmap is a blueprint for an operational, SaaS-based business platform and is designed to take ISVs through the entire modernization process as efficiently and painlessly as possible.