Software as a Service—or SaaS—is increasingly becoming the most popular type of software licensing model across the globe. It has many benefits—both for customers and developers—which have helped it achieve this position.

SaaS products offer consumers a much lower barrier to entry when compared to traditional licensing. Instead of paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for an app, you can pay a reasonable amount every month. At the same time, you’ll also be receiving updates from the app’s developer much more frequently.

For developers, on the other hand, the benefits of SaaS are even more obvious. You’ll get a stream of recurring revenue that will provide your team with a healthy safety net.

If you have an idea for such a product and want to join the ranks of top SaaS developers like Google and SalesForce, you’ll need to hire skilled developers. But, this process can be tricky—especially if you don’t know what to watch out for. In this guide, we’ll cover the skills of qualified SaaS developers that you should look for. We’ll cover what roles and responsibilities such professionals can take on, and explore how to hire SaaS developers who are highly skilled.

Skills, Roles, and Responsibilities of a SaaS Developer

A SaaS developer’s main task is to develop and maintain software. This can be for a variety of platforms, but, the most popular one is the desktop in the majority of cases. Let’s dive deeper into our topic now and explore the responsibilities of a SaaS software development engineer.

Responsibilities

A SaaS software developer must be able to do the following:

• Analyze the needs of the customer
• Create a rough prototype of the app using its objectives
• Polish the prototype app to a high standard while following feedback from the customer
• Maintain the app’s reliability over its lifespan and as it gets updated

Roles

The roles that SaaS developers play in their projects can vary quite a bit. They might be assigned a simple role where they need to analyze code and check for bugs. At the same time, they might need to create complex functionality following customer guidelines. Because of this, hiring talented SaaS developers for your business is quite important. They’ll need to be familiar with a wide variety of tools, like a mockup generator, and be prepared to learn more as they grow.

Technical Skills

A confident SaaS development engineer should be proficient in as many programming languages as possible. Additionally, they must also be well-versed in a variety of other development and software engineering concepts. Chief among these are:

• Java
• JavaScript
• Python
• Ruby on Rail
• GitHub
• Django
• Hadoop
• Big Data
• DevOps
• Spark
• Agile Software Development
• SQL
• MongoDB
• The .Net Framework
• Node.JS
• Network Security

Why Hiring a Skilled SaaS Developer is Important for Your Company

Skilled SaaS developers will help you move your offerings to the more lucrative licensing option. With their help, you can start generating healthy recurring revenues while also providing your clients with a better experience. You’ll be able to update your product more frequently with the help of SaaS developers, which will let you stand out from your competitors.

If you’re interested in hiring SaaS developers, you might be wondering where to find these professionals. Conveniently, that’s what we’ll be exploring up next.

Where Can You Find SaaS Developers?

SaaS development engineers can be found both on freelance job platforms, such as Upwork or Five,r and in SaaS software development companies. You can outsource a team of SaaS developers as well. Each of these options has advantages and drawbacks. But, it’s more preferred to work with a company than with separate freelancers.

Of course, you can find high-end SaaS developers working on a freelance basis. Still, working with freelancers is about certain specifics. The thing is freelancers love more freedom and for them, it might often be troublesome to deliver their work on time. Moreover, one freelancer can have many orders and yours can be of not the highest priority for the professional.

Working in a SaaS development company is more beneficial in this sense. Once you sign up a contract with a SaaS development company, you set the terms of your order, along with a deadline, at once. Aside from this, the company values its reputation as the demand for its SaaS software development services is directly dependent on it. Thus, it is not ideal to be late with the work for them. So, you can feel safer in terms of the deadline if you refer to a SaaS development company.

Another good choice for you is to hire an outsourced team of SaaS service development specialists. For example, one day it may be reasonable to hire a remote part-time CTO. However, it would demand referring to a special company that provides quality outsourced teams of SaaS professionals. Why?—Because it is a bit troublesome to search for such companies yourself and find the optimal variant in terms of work quality and price.

How to Hire SaaS Developers Appropriately?

Before you hire a SaaS developer for your project, you should first determine the essential qualities they should possess:

Experience is essential. A developer with experience in your business will be more familiar with your demands and be able to start working on your project right away.

Price is another crucial component to consider. Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential developers, you may compare their prices to see which one best fits your spending limit. Just remember that worth and price are different things. There are some excellent developers out there whose prices are not that high.

Communication is key—you’ll need to speak with each possible developer, after all. Those who can express their opinions clearly would be the best candidates. This way, there will be little chance for your future application’s development to encounter troubles due to communication issues in your software SaaS development team.

It’s time to invite potential SaaS developers to an interview after you’ve trimmed down your list of candidates. You should ask the developer a few questions during the interview to learn more about them and determine whether they are a good fit for your company.

Here are some crucial inquiries to make:

How long have you been working in the sphere? – Even though it may even seem senseless, you need to confirm that the developer is a respectable specialist with a solid track record. A complete newbie in the field with no prior experience is not someone you want to hire, is he?

What is your history? – Check to see if the SaaS developer has previous expertise working in your sector. Additionally, be certain that they have a basic understanding of your company. They will find it simpler to comprehend your demands and develop the ideal software program as a result.

How do you develop your products? – You should find out how the coder operates and how long they suppose the project will take to complete.

Additionally, you should learn how they interact with their clients. You can use this knowledge to make successful software timelines and future plans.

Conclusion

SaaS developers play key roles in producing new SaaS applications because they are responsible for the process of designing, building, and testing the end application. The requirements for these specialists are high, as to perform such a number of tasks the professional must have quite a lot of skills. SaaS development engineers can be found on freelance job platforms such as Upwork or Fiver or you can also get their services if you refer to a SaaS development company.

Aside from this, you can also get back office outsourced services. Each of these options has advantages and drawbacks, but in sum, it’s more preferred to work with a company. As for hiring SaaS developers, you should first determine the aspects that weigh most for you. It’s recommended to pay attention to such factors as experience, price, and communication. After narrowing down the list of candidates based on these aspects, it’s time to confirm the required qualities in the process of the interview with a potential SaaS developer for your company.

Author Bio:

Anastasia Stefanuk is a passionate writer and Information Technology enthusiast. She works as a Content Manager at Mobilunity, a provider of dedicated development teams around the globe. Anastasia keeps abreast of the latest news in all areas of technology, Agile project management, and software product growth hacking, at the same time sharing her experience online to help tech startups and companies to be up-to-date.