Why opt for labelled SaaS software?
There are many SaaS (Software as a Service) publishers, and all of them claim to have the best offer and the best service. Who should you believe, and how should you compare them? It's a real headache for the customer, except when a label comes along to clarify everything. Find all the latest IT trends and news in our dedicated section.
SaaS must offer guarantees
Necessary differentiation
As SaaS is a recent phenomenon, many people have jumped on the bandwagon. As a result, there are now many relatively small SaaS vendors. In France, out of 3,000 publishers, only 15 have sales in excess of €50m. The others are between €5m and €15m. Faced with this kind of competition, publishers need to differentiate themselves. Product differentiation has its limits: once the ideal offering has been developed, everyone will be offering the same thing. Price differentiation is dangerous: if margins are cut too much, the business model is threatened. If you don't differentiate by product or price, how can you stand out from the crowd?
Reassuring customers
We need to look at the customer. What are the factors holding them back? Two aspects come out on top:
- the security of the service offered: using SaaS means entrusting your data to a service provider who will store it with a hosting company. How much risk is involved? How can you be sure that your data will not be misused or lost?
- the sustainability of the publisher: if the SaaS provider goes out of business, what happens to the data? and will the service be interrupted?
These questions are the main objections your sales staff have. And they are legitimate. To answer them, a solid, well-founded sales pitch is of course a good start. But is it enough?
The importance of third-party opinions
No matter how convincing you are, no matter how much you smile, nothing is worth the opinion of a third party. It's the same in every sector: in e-commerce with consumer reviews, in pear-to-pear with salesperson ratings. Your prospect who is about to sign is eager for outside opinions. They will be decisive in their decision. And in the SaaS sector, while customer reviews are important, professional accreditations have an even greater impact.
Labels to prove it
The SaaS landscape is consolidating
Exaegis is a rating agency that issues labels by carrying out a financial analysis of the company. It offers a " trusted third party " relationship between the publisher and its customers. Impartial, it bases its assessment on audits and provides tangible evidence to judge the performance, financial health and reliability of software publishers. This initiative reinforces the transparency expected by end customers and also by financial partners in terms of business management (financial management, asset management, etc.). This increasingly widespread practice of financial and operational diagnosis is gradually giving structure and security to the industry.
Two relevant labels
The Exaegis labels are based on an operational analysis and a financial analysis, assessing the risks of continuity, security and reversibility, with the aim of establishing the publisher's risk profile. Depending on the age of the organisation, Exaegis offers two different labels:
- the Startruxt label: intended for publishers and startups less than three years old. It is awarded for three years and reviewed twice a year. Here, the operational analysis is based on the following themes:
- market testing and initial results
- quality of design
- service implementation and delivery
- human resources
- recurring threats
- the Truxt label: intended for software publishers more than three years old with a turnover of less than €15m. It is awarded for three years. Here, the operational analysis focuses on these themes:
- sales and customer relations
- service production
- human resources
- quality improvement
- service transfers (integration and reversibility)
- business model - steering, management and administration
Exaegis doesn't just evaluate, it goes further. Once a label has been awarded, it acts as a guarantor. In the event of failure, Exaegis provides continuity of service or a financial guarantee to the label holder's customers. A powerful argument to reassure customers once and for all!
A virtuous circle for the publisher
Beyond the impact in terms of image and reliability, labelling is an interesting benchmark for the publisher. You may think you're at the cutting edge, but who's to say your competitors aren't doing better? Benchmarking your performance is a valuable source of information. It allows you to :
- get to know yourself better: you know what your strong points are compared with others. As a result, your sales staff are better equipped to persuade when prospecting.
- improve: you have identified your areas for improvement, so you know where you need to work.
A positive dynamic is created, uniting your teams around a collective, concrete objective. Players such as Backupia, for online back-up, or Talentsoft for human resources, have opted for an exaegis label. So why shouldn't you?
Publishers are going to have to show their credentials more and more. Transparency and guarantees are growing demands from end customers. It's a good idea to be ahead of the game and demonstrate your operational excellence and financial health. Even if it means improving your scores as you go along, rather than risking a supplier quality assurance exercise that you weren't expecting.
Article translated from French