In the ever-growing world of business, it is hard to find a company or a business that does not use the assistance of SaaS companies to help them in the daily operations of their businesses and a presence of product manager in the SaaS companies makes the operation much easier, lets take look how.
How do you Define SaaS Businesses?
“Software As A Service” or SaaS businesses are the kind of businesses that hosts an application and allows it to be accessed via any device with an internet connection.
SaaS is one of the three main branches of cloud computing, the other two being Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS) and Platform As A Service(PaaS).
SaaS unlike other forms of cloud computing allows data to be accessed from the internet but for other branches, it is necessary to download an application to access the required data.
As the term calls attention to the technology that makes it possible to store, manage and process big data through remote servers that are connected through a network.
Benefits of SaaS Companies to other Businesses
Businesses that invest in Software as a service yield a lot of benefits from it,
Some of those benefits are:
- Wide Reach: Since SaaS is compatible with platforms that use the web, it reaches and appeals to everyone, because of its compatibility it makes data accessible via any device with an internet connection.
- Lower upfront costs: As SaaSs are generally subscription-based and is devoid of any up-front license fee it results in lower initial costs, also the IT infrastructure that runs the software is managed by the SaaS provider there is a drop in fees of the software and hardware maintenance.
- Easy upgrades: Usually with an application, the upgrades and updates are managed by the customers themselves whereas, with SaaS, the providers deal with the upgrades and updates as they deploy the upgrades centrally to the hosted application and therefore removing that responsibility off your shoulders.
- Quick set-up: As SaaS applications are already installed in the cloud, it reduces the delays which usually lead to a lengthy deployment of the software.
- Scalability: SaaS providers offer a variety of options and subscriptions, in short, it is flexible to meet your business needs at any given point of time.
What Are Some of The Best SaaS Companies and Products?
After having a look at the benefits of investing in software as a service, let us take a look at some of the best SaaS companies and Products.
- Google: Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin led the company to expand to 137 SaaS products which include softwares for documentation creation, for advertising online and analytics.
- Salesforce: one of the most recognizable names in SaaS. They specialize in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and help you gather data about your customers throughout their interactions with you.
- FutureFuel: A student loan repayment company has a digital platform that makes the repayment of loans easier to manage.
- KnowBe4: Unlike the typical software as a service, KnowBe4 does not provide any service in particular, they are dedicated to educating their user about issues regarding cybersecurity so that they can detect their problems faster and protect their devices, businesses and personal information.
- DropBox (B2B,B2C): Is an online storing service that is powered by cloud computing and is a widely used service that people use to store Business related documents and personal information.
How are Product Managers Beneficial to SaaS Companies?
A product manager is a professional role that responsible for the development of products for the organization and a lot more than that:
- They are responsible for market research, assessment and for understanding the needs of customers.
- They are responsible for analyzing the success/failure of a product and for assessing the reasons for the same and make necessary changes in the product.
- Responsible for facilitating the technical side.
- Responsible for managing a large portfolio of solutions and technology.
- Responsible for rationalizing applications across markets.
- Responsible for prioritizing their work according to corporate strategies
- Responsible for educating their users.
In short, they play a vital role in the smooth running of organizations and SaaS businesses.
How do you Become a Product Manager?
There are a variety of Product Management Courses one can opt for is they wish to attain the position of a Product Manager.
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What are some of the best Product Management Certification Courses?
Product management courses are courses to provide certification in the field of Product Management that are developed by certified authorities to provide knowledge about the understanding and executing the roles and responsibilities of a product manager.
Though there various different certificates pertaining to product management, the best ones helps one develop the core essentials and understanding of the course and the job.
SaaS products require certain specific strategies for which there are various courses too.
Here is a list of product management courses that be of use to a seasoned professional or a newcomer in the field.
- Digital Product Management Courses by the University of Virginia (CourseEra):
In a partnership with CourseEra, The University of Virginia offers a digital management course that is tailored to meet the needs of a SaaS company.
Price: Free
- Product Management Certificate by Cornell University:
Cornell University is one of the most reputed university and as part of their academic training, they offer a product management course that teaches students the core fundamentals of product management.
Price: $1,260 – $9000
- Product Management Certificate by UC Berkley:
As one of the top-ranking universities in the US, as an addition to the other the programs they offer they also have a professional product management course through which the students learn about the techniques and tools used in product management.
Price: $7,245
- Product Management in Person Training by 280 group:
280 is a product management training and consulting firm that has been helping various companies with their product development and as a part of their training, they train their trainees in person about the fundamentals of product management so that they know everything possible about product managing.
Price: $1,995 – $2995
- Professional Personal Development courses: Business by Stanford University:
As a part of their professional development program, they offer business courses in a variety of fields including product management.
Price: It depends on the course you take.
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