The pandemic brought to light many deficiencies in the ways businesses deploy software. In turn, Software as a Service, or SaaS for short, has surged in popularity, becoming an essential model of distributed software deployment. In fact, software vendors are now focused on solely offering SaaS solutions as their only delivery model or campaigning for clients to migrate from on-premises to cloud-based models, if applicable. 

As SaaS becomes the norm in software delivery and deployment offerings, application modernization is progressively advancing in leaps and bounds, and in turn, evolving the way businesses serve customers digitally through added capabilities, agility, scalability, and improved interfaces which are all benefits of cloud-based solutions. There’s no denying that the SaaS market share is growing at break-neck speed so it’s important for businesses to choose which SaaS solutions work best for their unique business needs. 

What is Software as a Service (SaaS)

Before we run, we must walk, so in anticipation of listing out the best SaaS tools for small businesses, let’s first define what Software as a Service actually is. Software as a Service is software that is kept, delivered, run, and governed remotely by one or more providers. In short, SaaS is a model of software licensing deployed via the cloud.

SaaS providers are in the business of delivering software based on commonly-created data and code so it can be consumed by subscribers at any point in time and with payment models like pay-for-use or metrics-based.

As of September 2021, statistics show there are approximately 15,000 SaaS companies in the United States, which combined boast about 14 billion customers worldwide. As a whole, forecasts show that public cloud services will reach $482 billion in 2022. These numbers support the case that SaaS solutions are becoming the de facto model for many organizations that are in search of agility, flexibility, and affordability. 

As stated earlier, the pandemic and the inescapable need for remote work skyrocketed the appeal of SaaS solutions, which reached new, unprecedented heights. Even in the face of crisis, the cloud showed no sign of slowing down, with many organizations taking the leap to accelerate their digital transformation roadmaps and move to the cloud in an effort to modernize environments, support hybrid work frameworks, improve system reliability, and meet the modern business needs of the world.

Next, let’s take a look at some of the most noteworthy SaaS tools for small businesses.

SaaS Tools for Small Businesses

Small businesses need to accomplish so much with so little, so it’s no wonder that they’re constantly on the hunt for top-of-the-line products that give the best bang for the buck. In the world of startups and small businesses, they are constantly looking for the most cost-effective solutions to drive growth, so SaaS tools are always a good idea thanks to their pay-for-what-you-use model. 

Supporting fundamental business operations such as accounting, content creation, document repository, knowledge management, productivity, sales, project management, messaging, email marketing, customer relationship management, and more, small businesses have their hands full trying to decide which SaaS tools for small businesses fit the bill of their needs.

Here’s a list of the best SaaS tools for small businesses as based on several criteria such as customer reviews, usability, conversation intelligence, online resources, and more:

HR and Payroll

• RUN Powered by ADP. Payroll and HR solution platform that helps small businesses stay focused on driving the business forward. RUN automates payroll processes with easy workflows and provides an intelligent search tool to connect you to popular resources, reports, frequent tasks, and more.
• Paylocity. All-in-one HR platform that helps users manage payroll, benefits, talent, and workforce with technology-driven to deliver client success.
• Paychex Flex. All-in-one HR solution that helps organizations recruit and track candidates, streamline hiring and onboarding, performance reviews, and more, manage health insurance, track time and attendance data, pay employees and file and pay taxes, and much more.

Sales and Revenue

• HubSpot Sales Hub. Built on top of the HubSpot CRM platform, Sales Hub is a powerful and easy-to-use CRM embedded with engagement tools, configure-price-quote functionality, and comprehensive sales analytics.
• Gong. SaaS solution that enables revenue teams to reach their full potential by capturing and understanding every customer interaction, then deliver insights at scale, and empower users to make data-driven decisions instead of using opinions as a basis. Main clients include PayPal, Hubspot, LinkedIn, Shopify, Slack, and Zillow.
• Chargebee. SaaS platform that helps subscription companies capture, retain, and maximize revenue opportunities through automated recurring billing, revenue analytics, and subscription management.
• Salesloft. Sales engagement platform for sellers and sales teams looking to drive more revenue. Users can execute all of their digital selling tasks, communicate with buyers, understand future tasks, and receive coaching and insights to win sales opportunities in a single platform. Clients include IBM, Shopify, Square, and Cisco, to name a few.

Contact center operations and experience

• NICE CXone. Formerly known as NICE inContact, NICE is cloud contact center software. Thanks to Omnichannel Routing, analytics, workforce optimization, automation, and artificial intelligence, NICE empowers small businesses to provide stellar customer experiences.
• Zoho Desk. Cloud service provider that helps small businesses offer successful customer support experiences by prioritizing, managing, and closing volumes of requests across different channels. Users can build and publish support knowledge bases, analyze and improve performance of the team, and much more.
• Intercom. Customer communications platform that helps users build better customer relationships with personalized, messenger-based experiences across the customer journey.
• HubSpot Service Hub. Service offering that centralizes customer data and channels in one place to help users scale support through automation and self-service. By resting on top of the HubSpot CRM platform, support reps can deliver exceptional service.
• Hiver. Helpdesk built for Google Workspace that helps teams deliver outstanding customer service straight from Gmail. Users can track, collaborate, and assign customer emails as well as run advanced analytics and automations from the Gmail interface.
• Talkdesk. Cloud contact center that offers automation-first customer experience solutions that optimize customer’s critical service processes. Clients include IBM, Trivago, YMCA, and Fujitsu, to name a few.

Marketing and social 

• HubSpot Marketing Hub. Platform that houses several marketing tools and data so marketers can provide personalized experiences that attract and convert customers at scale. The Marketing Hub sits on top of the HubSpot CRM platform, achieving unparalleled alignment with sales to prove ROI and validate investments.
• Zoho Social. Robust social media management platform for businesses and agencies that helps schedule posts, monitor mentions, create custom dashboards, and more. Part of the Zoho family, Zoho Social includes tools such as publishing calendar, bulk scheduler, and repeat post.
• Hootsuite. Social media management tool for companies looking to strengthen customer connections and drive business results by integrating social media seamlessly. Users can schedule posts across multiple social platforms, manage organic and paid social content, track customer conversations, break down silos, gain actionable insights from social media, and much more, all in a single dashboard.
• Semrush. Online visibility management platform that boasts over 50 products, tools, and add-ons for elements like content, social media, search, market research, and more, with seamless Google integration and task management solutions.
• Zendesk. All-in-one, service-first CRM platform for customer support, sales, and customer communications that helps improve customer relationships.
• Facebook Pages Manager. SaaS application that lets users check page activity, view insights, and respond to their audience from their mobile device.
• Twitter Analytics. Tool that helps companies measure and boost their impact on Twitter.

Analytics

• AppsFlyer. Innovative, privacy-preserving measurement, analytics, fraud protection, and engagement technologies so customers increase customer privacy while providing outstanding experiences. AppsFlyer empowers creators and technology partners to create superior customer relationships.
• Amplitude Analytics. Digital optimization system that helps organizations understand and personalize digital products as well as optimize the business value of product innovation.

Team Management

• Reply. AI-powered sales engagement platform that automated multichannel touchpoints with customers and leads across the entire sales funnel.
• ClickUp. Fully-customizable productivity and team management platform that offers docs, reminders, goals, calendars, and even an inbox, all in one place.

Documentation

• PandaDoc. All-in-one document workflow automation platform that supports and empowers fast scaling to teams can accelerate their ability to create, manage, and sign digital documents such as proposals, contracts, quotes, bids, and more.
• Confluence. Open and shared platform that provides a collaborative space for teams to create, manage, and work on anything from product launch plans to marketing campaigns.

Moving to the cloud is not a matter of if but when, so it’s critical for businesses to actively search for the best SaaS tools that can help not only modernize their environment but also accelerate their digital transformation journeys and scale their operations confidently. 

At Svitla Systems, we know more than a thing or two about the Best SaaS tools for businesses for all shapes and sizes as we’ve been fortunate enough to participate in a wide variety of projects that have given our team of experts firsthand experience in some of the most cutting-edge, reliable, and lightweight SaaS technologies out there.