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Top 10 SaaS Examples and Applications for Businesses

By Alexander S. Gillis

Software as a service, or SaaS, is one of the most popular cloud computing models for delivering applications to users over the internet.

The SaaS model typically provides organizations with software through a third-party vendor and spans multiple business functions. For example, SaaS applications are made for sales teams, human resources (HR), finance, security and project management.

Although there are countless SaaS products on the market, here we address 10 examples of vendor-provided SaaS products that a business might use.

1.      Amazon QuickSight

Type of application: Business intelligence (BI)

The Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing platform provides a mixture of infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and SaaS products that offer compute, storage, database management, security and analytics platforms for enterprises and software developers.

Launched in 2015, Amazon QuickSight is an example of an AWS SaaS platform. It's a machine learning-enabled BI service that can take data and turn it into charts, tables and visual dashboards.

Features: 

• Compatible with multiple data sources.
• Embedded dashboards and application programming interfaces (APIs).
• Customizable data insights.
• Enterprise security tools such as federated users, encryption for data at rest and granular permissions.
• Multiple-region availability and built-in redundancy.

Alternatives: Microsoft Power BI, Strategy One, Tableau

Cost: Amazon Quicksight is priced per user and by capacity; contact sales for more information.

2.      Asana

Type of application: Project management

Asana is a SaaS project and task management tool designed to facilitate collaboration between team members. It can display workflows in different formats, including checklists, timelines and Kanban boards. It's helpful for project managers and teams in various industries. 

Features:

• Asana AI, which speeds up workflows and scales work.
• Custom fields for projects and portfolios.
• Organizes work into shared projects.
• Assign tasks and subtasks.
• Reusable templates.
• Timelines for tasks and project deadlines.

Alternatives: Jira, monday.com, Trello

Cost: Asana offers four pricing plans: Personal is free; Starter is $10.99 per user, per month billed annually; Advanced is $24.99 per user, per month billed annually; and Enterprise. Contact sales for pricing.

3.      CrowdStrike Falcon

Type of application: Cybersecurity

The CrowdStrike Falcon cloud-based security platform provides endpoint protection, threat detection and incident response services in a suite of security products. Users subscribe to the platform and then select the modules and seats they need. 

Features:

• Endpoint detection and response.
• Device control.
• Malware detection.
• MITRE ATT&CK mapping.
• Threat simulators. 
• Vulnerability management.

Alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne, Trellix Endpoint Security

Cost: Falcon Go is $59.99 per device billed annually; Falcon Pro is $99.99 per device billed annually; and Falcon Enterprise is $184.99 per device billed annually. Contact sales for pricing information on Falcon Complete Next-Gen MDR. 

4.      DataBricks

Type of application: Data analytics

DataBricks is a SaaS data analytics tool for building, sharing and deploying enterprise-grade data and analytics. It is built on Apache Spark and is ideal for mid- to large-sized organizations.

Features:

• Compatible with various data sources and formats.
• Data engineering and machine learning support.
• End-to-end visibility into data pipelines.
• Integration with other platforms.
• Performance tracking using Lakehouse Monitoring.
• Resource utilization monitoring.

Alternatives: Amazon Redshift, Cloudera, Snowflake  

Cost: Databricks offers pay-as-you-go pricing; contact the company to request a price quote.

5.      DocuSign

Type of application: eSignature

DocuSign is a cloud-based electronic signature tool for securely signing, sending and managing documents. It is useful for HR, legal, sales and procurement teams or anyone who needs to sign a legal document remotely.

Features:

• Customized signature fields.
• Multiple font options.
• File merging.
• PDF file conversions.
• Templates for streamlining the sending process.  

Alternatives: Adobe Acrobat Sign, Dropbox Sign, PandaDoc

Cost: The Personal plan is $10 a month or $120 billed annually; Standard is $25 a month per user or $300 billed annually; and Business Pro is $40 a month per user or $480 billed annually. Contact sales to customize a plan. 

6.      Salesforce Slack

Type of application: Team communication and collaboration

Launched in 2013, Slack from Salesforce is a cloud-based messaging application that enables teams within an organization to connect and collaborate. Slack users can message anyone inside or outside their organization and communicate to organize projects, work asynchronously, access information and share updates.

Features:

• Addresses administrative and non-administrative roles.
• Canvas templates, which are prebuilt digital documents.
• Enables direct messaging and group chats.
• Supports eDiscovery and data loss prevention through its Discovery API.
• File sharing.
• Integrates with other apps.
• Organized channels for teams or projects.
• Native Slack AI tools.
• Supports voice and video calls.

Alternatives: Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Pebb

Cost: Slack offers Free; Pro is $4.38 per user, per month when paying monthly; Business+ is $9 per user, per month; and Enterprise+. Contact sales for pricing. 

7.      Salesforce CRM

Type of application: CRM

Salesforce offers several SaaS products focused on customer relationship management (CRM). Its software enables organizations to better understand and connect with their customers.

Salesforce CRM consists of Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, Commerce Cloud and CRM Analytics. Salesforce CRM isn't sold as a single product; instead, users subscribe to each tool individually as needed. Sales Cloud, for example, is designed for marketing, sales, IT, commerce and customer service teams.

Features:  

• AI-enabled lead scoring.
• Automation of workflows and business processes.
• Monitoring to assess the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
• Pipeline and forecast management.
• Tracking for customer information and interactions.

Alternatives: Microsoft Dynamics 365, Zendesk, Zoho CRM

Cost: The Starter Suite is $25 a month per user; Pro Suite is $100 per user, per month; and Salesforce Foundations is a free add-on for the existing Enterprise Edition and above plans. Starter Suite and Pro Suite plans require annual contracts.   

8.      Workday HCM

Type of application: HR

Workday is a cloud-based software vendor that specializes in human capital management (HCM) and financial management applications.

Workday HCM is an HR management SaaS tool designed to unify a wide range of functionalities into a single system. It helps organizations manage tasks such as benefits, talent management, payroll, time tracking, compensation, workforce planning and recruiting.

Features:

• Business process frameworks.
• Dashboards and reports.
• Integration with other internal and external platforms.
• Machine learning features to personalize enterprise experiences.
• Notifications and alerts.
• Reporting and analytics.

Alternatives: Cornerstone OnDemand, Oracle Cloud HCM, SAP SuccessFactors

Cost: Contact sales for pricing information.

9.      Zendesk

Type of application: Customer support

Zendesk is a customer support-based SaaS tool that helps organizations manage customer service interactions using knowledge bases, support tickets and live chats.

Features:

• AI-enabled chat services.
• Analytics dashboards.
• Customer inquiry tracking.
• Omnichannel support across email, chat, phone and social media.
• Organized support tickets.
• Workflow automation tools.

Alternatives: HubSpot Service Hub, Salesforce Service Cloud, Zoho Desk

Cost: Zendesk offers four pricing plans: Support Team is $19 per agent, per month billed annually; Suite Team is $55 per agent, per month billed annually; Suite Professional is $115 per agent, per month billed annually; and Suite Enterprise is $169 per agent, per month billed annually. 

10.  Zoom Meetings

Type of application: Video collaboration

Zoom is a video conferencing application designed for remote and hybrid teams. It supports one-on-one and group video calls. 

Features:

• Webinar hosting.
• High-definition video and audio meetings.
• Real-time transcriptions.
• Screensharing and recording.

Alternatives: Google Meet, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams

Cost: A Basic Zoom license is free. Pro, for up to 99 users, is $13.33 a month, per user billed annually; and Business, for up to 250 users, is $18.33 a month, per user billed annually.

Benefits of SaaS for businesses

SaaS enables software vendors to deliver a wide range of tools to individuals and organizations through the cloud. While each SaaS application offers its own unique benefits, most SaaS applications share similar core benefits. These include the following:

• Cost. SaaS is usually expensed as a subscription model, often priced as recurring annual or monthly fees. This flexible pricing model has less of an upfront cost compared to a one-time licensing fee. However, the cost could be higher over time.
• Scalability. SaaS platforms are often scalable, meaning they can grow or shrink with customer needs.
• Deployment speeds. SaaS applications are typically available immediately after purchase and require less infrastructure to set up and run than software run in-house.
• Integrations. SaaS software is typically designed to integrate with several common or related systems that an organization might be using.
• Security. Using a third-party service always adds some level of security risk. SaaS vendors typically provide security features in their offerings, which are defined in service-level agreements.
• Management. In SaaS models, the vendor is typically responsible for managing updates, security, server management and uptime.

SaaS pricing often varies depending on the subscription options a vendor offers. Learn more about the basics behind SaaS pricing models and licensing.

Alexander S. Gillis is a technical writer for Informa TechTarget. He holds a bachelor's degree in professional writing from Fitchburg State University.