In today’s article, Growketing will talk about the development of a SaaS, where there are stages of growth and key data tracking, such as expenses, costs, ownership, functionality, usage information, and renewal dates. This ensures that the information never becomes outdated or obsolete. Keep reading to discover what these development phases are and what they consist of.

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Stage 1 – Define What Is Needed

Reviewing what is necessary for the development of the SaaS will provide an opportunity to preserve value, avoid risks, and plan strategically. Why?

• Preserve value by comparing the proposed application with functionally similar alternatives.
• Verify compliance with cybersecurity standards and policies, data and privacy standards, regulatory compliance, and financial responsibility.
• Approve or reject the purchase and use of a SaaS tool based on predetermined objective criteria.

Stage 2 – Plan

It is essential to develop an onboarding or implementation plan for applications. A plan that guides us to the success or failure of adoption and effective use of the application within the organization. Why?

• Prevent organizational chaos by clearly defining the roles of each person involved in the application’s development, including ownership and stakeholders’ roles.
• Create a lifecycle plan that includes measurement and renewal dates to ensure that the application continues to bring value to the industry.
• Establish benchmarks for adoption effectiveness and utilization for future decision-making.

Stage 3 – Measure

The administration phase represents sustained long-term maintenance. It involves making regular and sustained efforts to actively maintain and manage applications.

At least once every 30 days, we must examine the following: upcoming renewal dates, costs or expenses, and any unused functionality. Why?

• Create a regular registration cadence to avoid costly surprises.
• Ensure that KPIs and metrics remain up-to-date through regular reporting.
• Enable collaboration when used in conjunction with a logging system that provides visibility to teams, stakeholders, and application users.

Stage 4 – Renew

The renewal date of an application represents a fork in the road when viewed within the framework of a lifecycle. If the application is renewed, it will continue in the measuring stage (perhaps with some adjustments).

If the organization refuses to renew or continue using the application, a retirement or decommissioning workflow begins to ensure that the application leaves the organization with minimal risk. Why?

• Evaluate the value of the SaaS application holistically by considering all factors that affect decision-making.
• Document a renewal calendar that drives proactive and informed decision-making for upcoming renewals well before the required notification periods.
• Preserve and enhance the value of tools by creating informed renewal negotiations.

Stage 5 – Secure

When a request does not meet the criteria for renewal, it must exit the organization securely, cost-effectively, and compatibly. Why?

• Create a transition plan for functionality, users, and associated data to ensure continuity.
• Ensure the secure removal of company and customer data from designated applications to maintain compliance and reduce risk.
• Actively monitor the application inventory to ensure that retired and off-platform applications do not reactivate due to returning users.
  

Did you find this information useful? Click here to download our infographic on the stages of SaaS growth so you can review it whenever you need it.

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