Opinion
Is the end of SaaS near?
Is the end of SaaS near?
We're currently reviewing all our SaaS tools (and we genuinely have quite a few).
I'm increasingly getting messages from the team like: "$19 per seat per month? Honestly, we'll just build it ourselves."
Yes, sure: for proper data protection and cybersecurity, you (still) need some dev know-how here and there.
But the core question is: why pay for standard tools (often with too many or too few features) when we can build these tools ourselves just as well with our design expertise and new low-code/no-code solutions?
The first custom tool is already running. Our cost structure is happy.
And this isn't a "hook for reach," but was a genuine question to my LinkedIn network:
Are you now building your own tools instead of buying SaaS solutions?
Key learnings from the discussion:
The problem obviously isn't with SaaS as a delivery model. The problem is how especially the large SaaS providers package and price their products. I need a specific feature, but have to get the Premium-XXL package, even though I don't need 99% of the features. Not cool.
For exactly this case, companies can already develop functioning tools themselves today (with relatively little effort) using low-code/no-code/vibe-code applications. We already have one running, a second is in the home stretch and will follow during the month.
Whether it's worth it investment-wise naturally depends on the complexity/sensitivity of the application and the team's fitness level with the tools. For fit teams with a bit of dev know-how, the investment for development and maintenance is manageable and the business case is quickly reached. Both in terms of direct and indirect costs.
I've taken note of the critical voices about why this is all a bad idea (from maintenance costs to code quality to "incorrect cost calculations"). The positive examples from the discussion (e.g., Daniel Weise, David Hofmann, Dennis Wendlinger, Gebhard Schrader) show one thing above all from my perspective: those who focus on explaining why things don't work will have a tough time in the coming months/years. Because the question I'm asking myself is also being asked by other customers.
For SaaS providers to remain competitive, they need to catch up. Become more transparent, price more individually, and be open to customization through low-code applications (as Oleksandr Aidarov aptly summarized). Usage-based pricing models (like Mathias Duda offers, for example) are long overdue in my opinion.
The fact that new job profiles like "vibecodefixers" are emerging shows that of course not everything works smoothly yet. Teams are getting started anyway and need (at least for now) the human in the loop who ensures everything runs in the end.
My conclusion:
Of course, not everything works perfectly yet. But our initial successes and the experience reports here reinforce my conviction. We'll definitely keep experimenting, implementing, and learning.