Software once had to be installed on-site at significant cost. Now, though, it’s available on-demand via the “cloud” — public, private or hybrid. That’s SaaS (software-as-a-service) in a nutshell, and it frees up companies to focus on more important things. Not only that, it’s highly scalable, automatically updated and cost efficient in that there’s no need for hardware or large on-site IT departments to handle maintenance.
Are there down sides? Sure. Relying on a third-party vendor for anything, including software, means opening the door to potentially poor customer service, security issues, service outages and other headaches. Nonetheless, countless companies have already embraced SaaS as a game-changer and many more will do so in the months and years ahead.
SaaS Cloud Computing
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is one of the three main pillars of cloud computing (and probably the most well-known). SaaS allows for “on-demand” access to information and cloud-based tools via third-party hosted applications over the Internet. Popular SaaS in cloud computing companies include Salesforce, Amazon AWS and NetApp.
“If someone asks me what cloud computing is, I try not to get bogged down with definitions,” Marc Benioff, founder and head of SaaS leader Salesforce has said. “I tell them that, simply put, cloud computing is a better way to run your business.”
Here are SaaS in cloud computing providers worth checking out.
Industry: Cloud Software
Location: Hingham, Massachusetts
Retailers use OneView Commerce’s cloud architecture to build point-of-sale, commerce and digital experiences. Its modern software stack allows in-store sales teams to access in-the-moment data and leverage real-time insights to engage shoppers, optimize inventory, synchronize fulfillment and align promotions.
Industry: Artificial Intelligence, Fintech
Location: Schaumburg, Illinois
Over 2,000 businesses, including Michelin, Sysco, US Foods and Hearst, use Bectran’s cloud-based platform to resource their credit, collections and accounts receivable departments. The SaaS platform speeds up transaction processing through digitization and automation of data, tasks and processes, and operates for credit departments in the same way that CRM software does for sales teams.
Industry: Information Technology
Location: Austin, Texas
AlertMedia helps organizations protect their people and resources during emergencies. The company offers threat intelligence, emergency communication and travel risk management solutions that help businesses protect their workforce. Its cloud-based software platform and team of in-house meteorologists and intelligence analysts deliver mass notifications, employee safety monitoring and business travel risk management.
Industry: Software
Location: San Francisco, California
Render’s cloud platform makes it easy for developers to host anything online. The company provides a straightforward way to manage infrastructure without the typical cloud deployment complexities so that developers and businesses can focus on building their products instead of maintaining infrastructure.
Industry: Big Data
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Nasuni’s hybrid cloud storage solution helps businesses grow with scalability, built-in security and fast edge performance. Its File Data Platform consolidates NAS and backup, which eliminates data silos and makes management easy and flexible. Nasuni’s platform is used by organizations around the world, in industries from construction to consumer goods in addition to the public sector.
Industry: Fintech, Healthtech, Software
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Healthcare companies, higher education organizations and financial institutions, including Bon Secours Health, Byline Bank and Emory University, all use Strata Decision Technology’s cloud-based solutions for financial planning, decision support and performance analytics. The company’s StrataJazz platform simplifies planning, budgeting, forecasting and managing operational and capital spending.
Industry: Software
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Fusion Risk Management’s cloud-based software solutions enable businesses to build proactive continuity risk management. Its enterprise software helps to identify points of friction, single points of failure and naming the actions necessary to mitigate impact. Companies use Fusion for IT disaster recovery and crisis management in addition to proactive risk-management.
Industry: Software
Location: Chicago, Illinois
VelocityEHS provides businesses with software solutions to help them achieve their environmental, social and governance goals faster. Its platform allows customers to collect data and manage risks, enabling them to focus on both ESG and environmental, health and safety responsibilities. VelocityEHS works to ensure its offerings are more affordable and faster to implement than competing software tools while providing a high-quality user experience.
Industry: AI + Software
Location: Bedford, Massachusetts
EnterpriseDB, or EDB, specializes in database management and artificial intelligence. Through its open-source data platform, EDB aims to help businesses reduce costs by providing localized insights and scaling PostgreSQL to handle enterprise workloads while also empowering data scientists to streamline database operations and analysis.
Industry: IoT + AI
Location: San Francisco, California
With a focus on safety, efficiency, and sustainability, Samsara’s Connected Operations Cloud collects data from sensors, vehicles and heavy machinery to optimize business operations. The company’s portfolio includes AI-powered dashboard cameras and equipment monitoring systems, serving clients across a wide range of industries to increase operator accountability and streamline overhead costs like fuel and labor.
Industry: Marketing
Location: Denver, Colorado
Contentful’s composable content platform integrates AI solutions, allowing both technical and non-technical users to create personalized digital experiences across multiple channels. With a focus on enhancing marketing strategies for global brands, Contentful empowers businesses to accelerate publishing, expand market reach and enhance customer engagement through its intuitive workspace. Contentful caters to industries across retail, automotive, construction, transportation and healthcare, to facilitate productivity enhancements and optimize digital experiences for clients’ audiences.
Industry: Information technology, consulting
Location: Fully remote
Mission Cloud is an AWS-certified team leveraging its software and expertise to provide client businesses with comprehensive solutions for efficiently managing their AWS cloud environments. Its cloud services platform offers features for performance monitoring and optimization so businesses can identify and take advantage of opportunities to improve their cloud environments. Mission Cloud’s clients come from industries such as retail, life sciences, media and finance.
Industry: Restaurants
Location: Fully remote
Restaurant365 makes cloud-based software products restaurants use to streamline oversight of their back-office operations. R365 Accounting enables automations for accounts payable processes, for example, while R365 Intelligence provides real-time insights that can help businesses build a data-driven strategy to support their growth.
Industry: Big data, Healthtech, Database, Analytics
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
InterSystems’ cloud database management products tackle the challenge of storing, managing, analyzing and transferring huge quantities of sensitive data, such as health, financial and scientific data. For example, the company’s TrakCare product is a system for unifying patient records and other health information so that the data is privacy protected, yet accessible to the people who need it.
Industry: Software, Travel Tech
Location: New York, NY
Spotnana offers a Travel-as-a-Service that reduces costs and increases efficiency for business travel. The company’s single global instance allows travelers and agents to access the same information simultaneously — including negotiated rates, profiles and trips. The platform also allows users to manage bookings from anywhere in the world.
Industry: IT Services, Software
Location: Chicago, Illinois
CityBase’s SaaS platform makes it easier for government and utility customers to pay bills, request services and access real-time account information through a range of user interfaces. The company offers security as a core feature of its cloud-based platform that uses three fully redundant and geographically distributed AWS data centers. These redundancies allow customers to streamline their payment processes without worrying about data breaches or service outages.
Industry: Information Technology
Location: Fully remote
What it does: Consensus Cloud Solutions helps its customers embrace digital transformation with a suite of cloud-based tools for handling activities like faxing, messaging and collecting e-signatures. While many of its solutions are designed to serve companies in the healthcare space, Consensus Cloud Solutions’ products also have applications for the finance, legal, insurance, manufacturing and real estate industries.
Industry: Information Technology, Logistics
Location: Fully Remote
What it does: Shippers, logistics consultants, and technologists have come together to produce a cutting-edge platform for supply chain management. Shippabo’s cloud technology enables businesses to pre-book shipments, monitor inventory levels, and maintain in-app communication. From ocean freight services to trucking, Shippabo’s experienced team has the connections and know-how to ensure every order reaches its destination safely.
Industry: Productivity, Software
Location: Fully Remote
What it does: Almanac is simplifying online collaboration with a document editor that makes communication a breeze. Thousands of templates and various elements allow workers to customize each document. Plus, teams can effortlessly assign tasks, provide feedback, and share documents. Because Almanac values efficiency, every member can stay on top of group projects and align their efforts with the rest of the team.
Industry: Information Technology
Location: Fully Remote
What it does: More and more businesses have come to depend on cloud technology to maintain operations, so DoiT International is providing extra support through consultation and design services. Equipped with a team of experts, DoiT International is in a prime position to help companies find more efficient ways to navigate the cloud and save valuable resources in the process.
Industry: IT, Analytics, Cloud Data Services
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
What it does: Blackbaud offers software and services that facilitate online fundraising, marketing, communications, relationship management and other aspects of business operations for non-profit organizations like the American Red Cross and the Special Olympics. Its many products include Financial Edge NXT for accounting and the content management system onMessage.
Industry: Construction, IT, Project Management
Location: Carpinteria, California
What it does: Procore’s cloud-based management software for commercial, industrial and residential construction that lets users manage, review, edit and share crucial project data. Products include the document management platform Procore Drive and the drawing management application CurrentSet.
Industry: Government, Finance
Location: Ames, Iowa
What it does: Workiva offers cloud-based software for spreadsheets, word processing and presentations, as well as applications for reporting, linking, collecting and analyzing business data.
Industry: Data Storage, IT
Location: Sunnyvale, California
What it does: NetApp’s SaaS offerings include backup for Microsoft Office 365, cloud backup solutions and private cloud storage as well as infrastructure tools like FlexPod and NetApp Advisor. Software maintenance and training are also available.
Industry: Home services (HVAC, plumbing, electrical)
Location: Glendale, California
What it does: ServiceTitan makes mobile business management software for the cloud that’s used by professionals in a variety of industries: plumbing, electrical, HVAC and others. In addition, it’s integratable with accounting software like Quickbooks.
Industry: File Sharing, Web Hosting, Productivity
Location: Redwood City, California
What it does: Box’s cloud platform facilitates content management and file sharing. It’s also easily integrated with other apps and systems, able to run management scripts and lets users collaborate with company colleagues or outside parties.
Industry: CRM, Analytics, AI
Location: San Francisco, California
What it does: Salesforce’s subscription-based business software provides on-demand CRM solutions. The company’s portfolio of products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and Marketing Cloud, Community Cloud and Analytics Cloud.
Industry: IT, PaaS
Location: Santa Clara, California
What it does: ServiceNow offers cloud-based IT service management and process automation software that lets companies define, structure, manage and automate operational services.
Industry: Information Services, IT
Location: San Francisco, California
What it does: Oracle’s suite of cloud applications gives users and complete and unified view of their business by merging such functions as finance, human resources and supply chain to optimize end-to-end experiences. It’s also scalable and “future proof” via the use of AI, blockchain and IoT technology.
Industry: Analytics, Hardware, IT
Location: Armonk, New York
What it does: IBM’s quickly deployed SaaS applications offer users cognitive analytics, innovative business processes and improved customer experiences across the board — from HR and marketing to finance and IT. They’re also designed with security and scalability in mind.
Industry: Finance, HR
Location: San Francisco, California
What it does: Workday provides a variety of SaaS solutions for human resources, payroll and financial management. It also offers professional services automation capabilities and analytics capabilities that help users glean and distribute insights from finance and HR data.
Industry: IT, Analytics
Location: San Francisco, California
What it does: Splunk’s SaaS products help companies and organizations obtain real-time operational intelligence. Its Splunk Cloud lets users automate the collection and indexing of machine data to improve operations and performance; employ smart algorithms to gain better insights; apply AI and machine learning to datasets; and keep data secure via Splunk’s encrypted cloud or another storage location.
Industry: Marketing, Analytis
Location: San Mateo, California
What it does: SurveyMonkey is an online survey SaaS provider whose enterprise services include data analysis, consumer-focused marketing and brand management.
Industry: Productivity, Video Conferencing
Location: San Jose, California
What it does: Zoom’s SaaS solutions include cloud-based communications tools such as video conferencing, online meetings, group messaging and HD conference room video that’s flexible and scalable.
Industry: Retail, E-commerce
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
What it does: Shopify is an SaaS commerce platform through which users can get a birds-eye view of their businesses and customers across all channels. In addition, it facilitates product and inventory, order and payment processing and more.
Industry: IT, Telecom
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
What it does: Microsoft’s Cloudscale365 offers a suite of always accessible cloud computing software, including apps like Excel, PowerPoint and Word (live-streamed or on desktop). It also allows users to access and share (documents, contacts, calendars, etc) from a computer or smartphone as well as communicate via Skype.
Industry: Big Data, Analytics
Location: Seattle, Washington
What it does: Tableau’s cloud-hosted analytics platform lets users publish dashboards, share insights, deploy interactive visualizations to uncover new opportunities and more. Additionally, its natural language-based Ask Data tool answers questions in the form of a viz — or worksheet/dashboard.
Industry: Publishing, Web Development
Location: San Francisco, California
What it does: WordPress is adaptable and scalable SaaS publishing software that lets users create website or blogs free of charge. Users can also process payments, build marketing plans and design online portfolios to showcase their work.
Industry: IT, Web Hosting
Location: Seattle, Washington
What it does: AWS SaaS services offer users an elastic pay-for-use environment on which to build optimized solutions, extreme scalability and constant availability, and security and privacy bolstered by a robust data center and network architecture.
Industry: Cleantech
Location: Chicago, Illinois
What it does: Sphera provides operational software for environmental performance, product stewardship and operational risk. Its goals are safer employees, healthier communities, more sustainable products, profitable growth and stronger brands.
Industry: Productivity, Messaging
Location: San Francisco, California
What it does: Slack offers cloud-based communication services and tools that lets users create teams and communicate them internally or externally. The can also attach files to conversations, have video chats, share screens and communicate via mobile app.
Industry: Customer Service
Location: San Francisco, California
What it does: Zendesk is a customer service platform that offers an array of SaaS products, including Zendesk Support, Zendesk Chat, Zendesk Talk, Zendesk Guide, Zendesk Message and Zendesk Explore on a platform that’s designed to grow and scale.
Industry: Productivity, Video Conferencing
Location: Goleta, California
What it does: GoToMeeting is a cloud-based software tool for online meetings that lets users — sales professionals, IT managers, business owners — engage in face-to-face conversations, share screens, video conference in high-def and more. It’s available via desktop or mobile.
Industry: Customer Service, Analytics
Location: Palo Alto, California
What it does: Medallia’s software helps numerous major brands collect, analyze and act on customer feedback. Tools that facilitate those processes include Medallia Ask Now, Medallia Insights Suite and Admin Suite.
