Vertical SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) is a cloud computing solution focused on a specific niche market. In today’s evolving market, industries prefer vertical Software-as-a-Service solutions to solve their modern-day problems related to their verticals.
This article briefly details the specific industries based on vertical SaaS meaning, difference between vertical and horizontal Saas, and benefits, along with lists of the top 10 vertical SaaS companies of 2023.
What is Vertical SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)?
Vertical SaaS is a type of software that provides the same capabilities and features as traditional, web-based applications, but is designed to be used by businesses within specific industries or sectors.
SourceFor example, vertical saas companies may offer cloud-based accounting and workflow automation tools designed especially for companies in certain industry verticals. Another platform might provide marketing automation services aimed at small businesses.
Vertical SaaS is a Software as a Service cloud computing solution that allows businesses to access and use the same software from a single, centralized location. This can be particularly helpful for small businesses that don’t have the manpower or resources to manage multiple software platforms.
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Vertical vs. Horizontal SaaS: Key Differences
Vertical SaaS solutions (often known as the vertical cloud) are designed to provide specialized capabilities and features that are specific to certain industries or sectors. Horizontal SaaS solutions, by contrast, is a type of software platform that offers the same general features and capabilities as web-based applications available online.
SourceThere are several key differences between vertical vs. horizontal saas. Here are five most vital vertical and horizontal SaaS.
1. Sales and Marketing
SaaS verticals platforms are typically designed to provide marketing automation and sales tools specific to the industries or sectors they serve. This can help businesses achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness when conducting business operations. Alternatively, Horizontal SaaS operates with the hope of engrossing the lead generation process. And the business needs to convert those leads into potential clients.
2. Cost of Acquisition
Vertical SaaS platforms typically require a lesser cost of acquisition when compared with horizontal SaaS. Furthermore, Horizontal SaaS platforms tend to be more expensive, as they mostly rely on the entire business operation and focus more on the target audiences.
3. Manageability and Scale
Vertical SaaS platforms are often easier to manage and scale than horizontal saas solutions. This is mainly because of accommodating a reduced level of operation from a minor outsourced team. On the other hand, the scalability and manageability of horizontal saas software are not as easy as Vertical SaaS. This is because horizontal SaaS companies deal with larger businesses compared to Vertical SaaS.
4. Going Digital
Vertical SaaS platform starts to generate leads once the Verticals complete their digital workplace transformation. This makes it challenging for Vertical SaaS providers to provide seamless service to the Verticals going digital. Alternatively, horizontal SaaS provide too experience tough challenges as they need to focus on the lead generation process on both digital and non-digitalized hubs.
5. The customer success picture
Vertical SaaS platforms are designed to provide services to specific verticals, and advocating customers will be less than horizontal SaaS platforms. On the other hand, horizontal models are designed to last longer in the market. This makes the platform gain maturity and leverage market conditions to understand more about customers.
10 Key Benefits of Vertical SaaS
Let’s not stop with the differences between vertical and horizontal saas that need thought. Now, we can take a look at the benefits offered by Vertical SaaS.
Source1. Better Integrations
Vertical solutions often come with powerful integrations that allow you to easily connect with various other systems and databases. This means that you can quickly integrate new software products or services into your business without having to resort to expensive custom coding projects.
2. Higher Returns on Investment
Vertical solutions tend to deliver higher returns on investment than traditional software products. This is because they often come with features and functionality that your competitors don’t have, as well as increased efficiencies and scalability.
3. Lower Customer Acquisition Cost
Vertical SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions have lower customer acquisition costs than traditional software applications. This is because they are typically consumed by employees in the same business context as the data they need to operate. As a result, vertical SaaS can be more easily adopted and used by customers within a company.
4. Head Starts over Competitors
Vertical solutions can give you a significant head start over your competitors in the market. This is because they are typically updated more frequently and have greater features than traditional software applications. As a result, businesses that adopt vertical software solutions will be ahead of their competition for years to come.
5. Upgrades and Scalability
Vertical cloud is regularly updated and upgraded with new features and functionality, which means that they can be tailored to meet the needs of your business even further. This ensures that your platform remains current and capable of providing the best possible user experience.
6. Greater Flexibility and Scalability
With a vertical SaaS solution, businesses can take advantage of the limitless scalability and flexibility that comes with the technology. Businesses can grow without worrying about scaling issues or hitting constraints in existing systems.
7. Reduced Costs and Complexity
Vertical solutions are often designed from the ground up with efficiency in mind, which means they’re typically much cheaper to use than traditional software products. Additionally, by adopting a vertical SaaS solution, you’ll avoid many of the headaches associated with running custom software on top of an existing platform.
8. Enhanced Customer Experience
Vertical SaaS platforms often come with features that help you improve and personalized your customer experiences, such as automated communication and ticketing systems. This can lead to a more streamlined interaction with your customers, which in turn can boost morale and motivation levels within your team.
9. Greater Control Over Your Data
With a vertical solution, businesses have complete control over their data – something that many traditional software products lack. This means that you’re able to safely store sensitive information without fear of accidental exposure or cyber-attacks from third-party suppliers.
10. Geared towards Specific Industry Needs
Vertical SaaS platforms are typically built with the specific needs of a particular business in mind. This means that they are tailored to provide the best possible user experience and data retrieval capabilities for your employees. As a result, vertical saas examples can help you streamline your workflow and improve efficiency within your company.
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Top Vertical SaaS Companies of 2023
In recent years, the number of vertical SaaS companies around the world has quadrupled. Furthermore, the standards of vertical SaaS companies have risen to a peak due to the heavy competition. Here are the lists of the top 10 vertical SaaS companies you need to know before hiring one for your business model.
Source1. Textura
Being one of the reliable vertical saas companies, Textura offers construction payment management software that is designed especially for the construction industry. Now, this saas company has been acquired by Oracle. The Oracle Textura offers an all-in-one payment industry-specific software for the construction business along with a tool that helps construction companies to stay within their budget and complete the product within the time frame. Oracle Textura payment management cloud service reduces the risks of managing lien waivers and compliance and ensures the entire supply chain is paid in time without any disruption.
2. Riskalyze
One of the successful vertical saas businesses, Riskalyze is a financial technology company founded in 2011. This vertical saas company built a Vertical SaaS product specially for assisting financial advisors in the US. The Riskalyze software offers a wide range of benefits to advisors by delivering 401 plans, analyzing the risk involved in investments, guiding portfolio investment, and so on. This vertical saas company helps investors to craft a perfect investment strategy for their clients.
3. Canny
The customer feedback management tool offered by Canny helps organizations to understand their customer’s needs and prioritize their business roadmaps accordingly. The tool from one of the leading vertical saas companies helps to build better products as per the feedback of customers and teammates. With this feedback management tool, business stakeholders can collect, analyze and organize the ideas from their customers or teammates and build a better product.
4. Procore
‘Procore technologies’ is an American construction management software provider founded in 2002. This vertical saas provider offers cloud-based construction software that assists construction company leaders to access, edit, design, plan, and so on the project from anywhere at any time. It is one of the most successful vertical saas companies helping contractors to not lose any of the vital sheets of their projects.
5. DropEvent
DropEvent offers a platform with a streamlined interface for collecting, organizing, and sharing photos among friends/family members. The platform allows anyone to upload as many photos at their original size to their acquaintances or a group of strangers.
6. Applied Epic
One of the best examples of successful vertical saas companies, Applied Epic offers one of the best cloud-based software designed to assist the Insurance industry. Applied Epic software helps independent insurance providers to ease their process by bringing automation into play. With the help of the intuitive dashboard offered by this cloud software, the insurance industry can easily manage their properties, sales automation, and overall revenues.
7. Upvoty
Upvoty is one of the leading Vertical saas companies, offering a feedback management platform for businesses in SaaS activities. Upvoty helps brands with its customer relationship management software to optimize the product by getting instant feedback from the product user. The tool assists customers or product users in submitting their feedback/reviews easily. This handy tool plays a vital role in boosting brand experience and product experience and improving customer satisfaction by turning user feedback into action to optimize the product.
8. Thapos
Thapos is one of the leading Vertical SaaS companies offering a Youth Sports management platform that plays a crucial role in the sports industry. The platform helps sports clubs and leagues to conduct their sports events efficiently. Also, this platform helps players to access their performance and to communicate with their teams and coaches easily. Overall, this platform facilitates athletes to achieve their sports goals with proper guidance from experts.
9. Karmabot
Karmabot is a slack-based collaboration tool specially designed to assist managers in building a strong and happier team for their organization. The tool creates an environment that creates true bonding among the teams and also remote workers. With the help of this collaboration tool, organizations can set goals, assign tasks, and keep track of the performance of their employees easily. Moreover, the tool helps employees earn reward points by achieving goals on time and delivering excellent performance; this paves the path to achieving a better employee experience.
10. Infor
Infor is one of the reliable Vertical SaaS companies offering business cloud services to meet industry-specific capabilities. The company offers one of the best ERP solutions to niche industries. The simplified and preconfigured ERP solution offered by Infor is a perfect mixture of data science and technology that helps multiple industries to perform faster implementation and better customer service deliveries.
Conclusion
If you’re thinking about investing in a SaaS-based solution that offers a unique or differentiated experience, then you should consider vertical SaaS. With this type of solution, you can access a wide range of applications and services from one centralized location, which can save you time and significantly reduce your SaaS spend.
This guide provides everything you need to know about vertical SaaS in 2023. We outlined the benefits of using this type of solution, discussed the various types of vertical SaaS products offered by Vertical saas companies available on the market, and helped you in choosing the right vertical SaaS companies for your business.
So, whether you’re looking to improve your business’s efficiency or expand your product offerings, hiring one of the trusted Vertical SaaS companies for your business operation is a great option.
Vertical SaaS FAQ's
Vertical SaaS platforms are typically built by combining the best features of traditional software applications with the flexibility and scalability of a vertical platform. This means vertical saas companies are designing solutions that help businesses streamline their workflow and improve efficiency within their organizations
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best approach depends on the specific industry needs. However, typically saas based vertical software offer greater flexibility and scalability than traditional software applications, which can make them a more suitable option for businesses that need the increased ability to scale quickly.
Vertical SaaS solutions offer many benefits that can be very advantageous for businesses. They typically have reduced development costs, because they require less testing and preparation before launch. This means that more funding can be allocated to developing new features and improving the overall user experience. Additionally, vertical clouds are regularly updated and upgraded with new features and functionality, which ensures that they remain current and capable of providing the best possible user experience.
There are two main varieties of SaaS: platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS). PaaS platforms provide businesses with the ability to build, deploy, and manage their applications using an external provider. This means that there is no need to invest in programming expertise or IT resources. In contrast, SaaS platforms allow businesses to access ready-made applications from third-party providers.
The main challenges associated with vertical SaaS businesses are the same as those faced by any new business venture: investment, execution, and scalability. Vertical SaaS must overcome the challenge of establishing a credible brand and building an audience before it can generate significant revenue. Additionally, there is a risk that the platform will not be able to keep up with the demands of growing businesses, which could result in fees being increased or services being discontinued altogether.
Updated : September 11, 2023
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