6 things you should consider when buying a SaaS product

The SaaS model is rapidly growing, according to a recent study. Today 80% of businesses use at least one SaaS product. However, you must weigh in all information and the subsequent business implications before making a decision. Here are some of the things that you should consider before making a SaaS purchase agreement.

1. Avoid shiny object temptation

Yes, SaaS products are sexy and they look cool on your CV. But you can’t decide to make an investment just for the sake of looking cool. Technology is and always will be an enabler to the business objectives and requirements. It’s no more than that. Business transformations are achieved only through organizational and cultural change — not with a software tool. You have to align your technology decisions with your business strategy.

2. Identify your business needs clearly

Everything starts with the business need. What’s your pain point? Why do you think your current technology is not adequate? Is it only because you want to get rid of the software and hardware maintenance? Or is it because you want to ease the collaboration of geographically separated teams? 

• Start with making a comprehensive study and a clear definition of your business problem you are looking to solve by purchasing a SaaS product. 
  
  
• Make a clear list of your specific business requirements, and prioritize them as must-have and nice-to-have. You can further identify your technical and service requirements, operational, data governance & security, and service management needs.
  
  
• Which parts of your business workflow are you planning to move to the SaaS, and how are you planning to integrate the SaaS product with your current environment? 

Choosing a vendor becomes much easier once you have clearly identified these things.

3. Evaluate several vendors

The SaaS market is growing rapidly and for every business need, there are so many alternatives out there. Make sure you evaluate all major vendors listed on review sites like G2, Capterra, etc. Don’t just go with the crowd and get the first one that pops up in the search engine results.  As a rule of thumb, evaluate at least five different solutions.

4. Only buy what you need

SaaS products come with different pricing tiers with different feature sets. Make sure the contract covers your must-have requirements, without overpaying for features not required in the initial phase. And it’s not only about the features you don’t need. Many times, you already have another tool to cover some of the features (e.g. a sales enablement software offers a built-in mailing solution but you already have another email software). Keep in mind that you can always go for a smaller package and integrate it with your existing technology.

5. Run a security audit

Security breaches happen at an alarming rate and we are all on hackers’ radars. Each new vendor you work with exposes additional attack surfaces. Although most vendors claim they have a sound security infrastructure, it’s always a good practice to run your own (or third-party) security audit. 

6. Make the final decision together

Make sure you don’t make the final decision alone and involve all stakeholders in the process. With your team, agree on a plan for implementation, usage, and what success will look like for each department. And always request for a final demo where you include all key team members who will be using the product.

Also read: SaaS a no-brainer for keeping your team on track: 6 must-have SaaS tools.

Deciding to invest in a SaaS product has always been a hard one. Watch our Demo Video to learn more about how GetAccept can improve your sales process.