SaaS Vs Owning the Code – What’s Best For an Entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurs worldwide want to elevate their businesses. With an overwhelming number of platforms to choose from, it can be challenging to choose the right one. Therefore, entrepreneurs should compare various factors, such as functionality, flexibility, price, and so on.

This article will discuss two different approaches to build a robust platform – SaaS vs Owning the Code.

Let’s see what could be a better fit for your business and how they are different from each other.

SaaS Platforms

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a web-based software delivery model where the software is available on a subscription basis. They are a cloud-based service, which means that it is hosted on the cloud by a third-party. 

In simple terms, SaaS platforms are built and hosted on the provider/company’s server, leaving the technical part of managing and maintaining the software to them. The users can access these web-based applications and pay the price for availing the services according to the number of users and service level. 

SaaS – Quick Wins

Here are some of the advantages of SaaS platforms: 

• Affordable
• Quick to Deploy
• Seamless Upgrades
• Zero Infrastructure
• Convenient

Owning the Code

Unlike SaaS platforms, owning/writing the code can help you access, modify, and redistribute the code as per your own needs and requirements.

When you own the code, you are responsible for hosting, maintaining, managing, and running the software. The main advantage is the flexibility and customizability it offers. You can build, modify, and customize your project just as you like.

Owning the Code – Quick Wins

Here are some of the advantages of owning the code:

• Independence
• Transparency
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Innovation and Development 
• Competitive Features and Technical Capabilities

SaaS vs Owning the Code – A Detailed Comparison

Now that we’re on the same page, let’s look at the factors that need to be evaluated to know what’s best for your business. 

• Go-to-Market Time

It takes a considerable amount of time to host your website as you need to build everything from scratch. It involves more effort and requires a working knowledge of coding. Entrepreneurs need to make various decisions regarding the integration, interface, themes, and overall functionality of their project when choosing to own the code. 

SaaS, on the other hand, can be set up with minimal coding knowledge. As the company/provider will take care of the hosting and security, there are fewer efforts involved, leading to a quicker Go-to-Market time. Your project will be up and running in a matter of a few days. 

SaaS vs Owning the Code Decision: if you want to get started quickly, SaaS platforms are going to be your best bet. 

• Maintenance and Support 

As mentioned earlier, the maintenance and management of SaaS platforms is the company/provider’s responsibility. They monitor and upgrade the software consistently. When you choose a SaaS platform, the performance, server issues, and overall maintenance do not come under your purview. 

In contrast to this, the entrepreneur or his IT team is responsible for the platform’s maintenance and support when they own the code. As a result, if the system crashes or encounters any bugs, it is the business’s job to find the issue and fix it. 

Many businesses want to have control over the maintenance of their projects. However, it can hinder your day-to-day operations as your IT team will be busy resolving these issues most of the time. 

SaaS vs Owning the Code Decision: if you wish to avoid this problem and take away support and maintenance responsibilities, then SaaS platforms would be a great solution. 

• Security 

Security should be your top priority. You must ensure that your data is not vulnerable to potential threats and hackers. SaaS software company/provider takes care of your project’s security and ensures that it is up to par with the safety-standards. 

When you own the code, the entrepreneur is responsible for security. However, instead of this being a downside, it is an added advantage to ensure high-security standards. As the software can be modified, you can quickly view, identify, and close the security gaps that the original programmers might have overlooked. 

SaaS vs Owning the Code Decision: if you wish to have a project that meets the security standards as per your needs, Owning the Code would be a great solution. 

• Customizability 

When it comes to customization, a SaaS software company/provider offers flexibility to customize the themes, web pages, etc. However, you won’t have access to the source code, which means you cannot edit or customize anything. This can be a major limitation for entrepreneurs who want their project to stand apart from the crowd. 

When you own the code, the sky’s the limit. You can edit, change, customize, and modify everything as per your requirements and offer unique and world-class functionality and experience. 

SaaS vs Owning the Code Decision: if customization is your priority, then owning your code is the best option!

• Control 

When you opt for SaaS platforms, you have little to no control over the software. Although it sounds great that the responsibility of making updates and changes lies with the software company/provider, it may not be preferred by everyone at all times. You cannot defer the updates and will have to use the latest version, whether you like it or not. 

The entrepreneur has control over everything when they own the code. Whether it is updates, changes, or adding/removing features, you have full authority over your project. 

SaaS vs Owning the Code Decision: If you wish to maintain authoritative control over your project, owning the code is your best option.

• Scalability

The ability of a program to scale is known as scalability. It is every organization’s goal to grow, however, achieving this growth with minimal changes and without disrupting the everyday activities can be challenging. 

Whether it is server-level scalability (easiness to upgrade when your number of incoming requests increase), vertical scalability (easiness to increase the size of RAM, processing power, hard disk to handle more load/data), or horizontal scalability (easiness to share the processing and memory workload across multiple devices), you can achieve it all with your own code.

When it comes to SaaS, scalability is a huge problem. 

SaaS vs Owning the Code Decision: If you wish to achieve more growth via a scalable platform, owning the code is your best option.

Choice of the Top 10 companies – Reviewed 

To give you more clarity, we’ve selected the top companies, reviewed their approach, and concluded which of these have built their website from scratch or used SaaS platforms.

There are various notable factors that lead to the success of your organization, and your website is one of them. 

As you can see, the industry giants are using their own code. When it comes to social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, they don’t use SaaS models either. 

Do you think their success would be the same had they NOT used their own codes?

Bottom Line

The final decision lies in your hands. It all comes down to your needs and requirements. 

If you want a quicker Go-to-Market time and wish to avoid the responsibilities of hosting, securing, and maintaining your project, then SaaS platforms are your best bet. 

If you wish to customize your project just as you like, have a higher degree of flexibility, scalability, security, and control, then you should own your code.

As an industry expert, Idea Usher recommends you to own the code, customize your project, and soar to new heights!

Idea Usher Solutions 

If you are looking for more guidance on creating a world-class project, we are more than happy to assist you. Feel free to reach out to us and get started with your project today.

Here are the services we provide:

1. Digital Marketing
2. Project Management
3. Web Development
4. Mobile App Development
5. Game Development
6. Internet of Things (IoT)
7. Blockchain Development
8. Artificial Intelligence
9. Chatbots

And much more! Contact us now. We are happy to help you.