What are SaaS and Open source and when to choose one over other?
Tags: saas, webdev, opensource
Published: 2022-01-14 07:08:50

Businesses typically look for SaaS or open source when looking for software solutions. In this article, we provide an overview of SaaS and open source solutions and details on when one should be chosen over the other.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is one of the fastest-growing divisions in the IT industry. SaaS models, which are centrally located on a remote cloud network, operate on a subscription basis and become useful for many businesses due to their flexibility, cost, and many other reasons.

**Newsdata.io** is just another example of Saas based product, which is a platform that offers a [news API](http://newsdata.io/) that users use to fetch required news data through API calls and users can also analyze their news to get useful insights. This is just one simple example of Saas.

In the coming period due to the covid pandemic, many companies will need the remote working of their employees, so the need for SaaS will only increase.

## What is SaaS?

SaaS stands for Software as a Service, it is usually a cloud-based software solution supported and managed by for-profit organizations. SaaS solutions typically operate on a pay-as-you-go subscription model.

In terms of quality and ease of implementation, SaaS is far ahead of open source solutions.

## What is open source?

Open source solutions are software whose source code is freely available. They are really useful when an organization is looking for a free solution and has a free team of developers to customize the code according to their needs.

Good examples of open source software are Linux, MySql, Joomla, phpBB, MyBB, etc.

In general, open-source software can be classified into two categories: development tools and business tools. Development tools, such as C ++, Java, MySql, etc., are the basic building blocks of software development and are usually supported by a non-profit research institute or group of enthusiasts.

The other category, business tools, caters to various business needs such as email, CRM, defect management, content management, human resource management, etc.

## When to choose SaaS?

SaaS is useful when finding business utility solutions. Plus, when you want software solutions for important but non-critical business goals.

**Cost:** the internal cost for the development of a business utility tool is quite high. In addition to the cost of development, there will be bugs and many iterations before the solution can be implemented. Most SaaS solution providers also take care of hosting, which is saved overhead.

**Maintenance:** SaaS software is maintained by the vendor, reducing unnecessary work for the IT/development team.

**Rapid Deployment and Removal:** SaaS is quick and easy to deploy. The opensource requires some work before it can be distributed.

**Experimentation:** SaaS is ideal for experimentation. Deploying open source requires a significant initial investment before deployment, which cannot be recouped if you decide to stop.

## When to choose Open Source?

Although they both have their advantages and disadvantages, when it comes to development tools, open-source has certain advantages:

**Flexibility:** Developers are truly open source solutions because of their ability to customize the underlying code. Open source solutions are good enough to meet the needs of developers.

**Quality code:** Using open source methodology produces better software, if there is a bug in the code, it can be quickly identified by the community.

**Reducing business risks:** Businesses can reap financial rewards. By using open-source, they can avoid the foreclosure and heavy investment required to purchase the software. Open source solutions are also easier to customize to meet business needs.

## Final thoughts

I haven’t dealt with SaaS and Open source software in detail, I just gave you an overall glace at what are they and why you should choose one over the other. If you want to learn about them in detail, just check out the blog link mentioned below.

**Blog link:** https://www.playablo.com/CorporateLearning/Blog/open-source-vs-enterprise-saas-lms-breaking-comparing-pros-and-cons/

**Get the news API key here for free:** https://newsdata.io/