What is Open-Source SaaS?

Open-source SaaS(software-as-a-service) is a software delivery model that gives users free access to the source code to analyze, use, customize, or distribute. 

While proprietary or traditional SaaS also ensures a cloud-based delivery, it differs from open-source by keeping the source code closed.

Open-source SaaS has both financial and technical advantages.

Financial Advantages

• Ownership costs: Developers are not required to cover license costs when adjusting open-source solutions.
• Regular system updates: Open-source technology evolves quickly.
• Community support: Developers can use dedicated communities to obtain additional product knowledge about this SaaS type.

Technological Benefits: 

• System flexibility: Open-source technology provides developers with more customization features than traditional SaaS, responding to diverse business requirements. 

• Integration: Open-source SaaS connects with existing software.
• More control: With no vendor lock-in in open-source SaaS, developers own their software stack and SaaS infrastructure. 

Using open-source SaaS instead of proprietary SaaS can be the right decision for the following reasons: 

• Open-source can be adapted to respond to various requirements. 
• Open-source technology employs fewer resources than proprietary SaaS. 
• Open-source communities offer user and technical guidance to developers.
• Open-source software goes through regular verifications for security reasons. 

However, there are certain disadvantages that come with this software model: 

• It requires extensive technical expertise to maintain and modify. 
• Because users are less dependent on vendor support, internal resources are prioritized. Businesses are responsible for monitoring and ensuring data security. 

Real-life examples: 

• Chatwoot: This is an open-source customer engagement platform that keeps its codebase public on Github and allows other developers to modify it. 
• Robocorp: This cloud platform for robotic process automation (RPA) offers users open-source tools. 

Open-source SaaS lets small and medium businesses use software CRMs (customer relationship management) or project collaboration tools with limited resource usage. 

Additionally, companies using open-source SaaS can develop agile products.

Here are some tips for the proper implementation and management of open-source solutions: 

1. Conduct thorough evaluations of internal technical capabilities and determine what outsourcing requirements might appear. 
2. Consider open-source SaaS software that has an involved community to help developers understand and use the product.
3. Constantly update your product to ensure system agility and prioritize security upgrades for stability.