Many startups in France have launched successful software-as-a-service (SaaS) products, but there’s still a lot of room for growth in the market, as businesses search for innovative solutions to address ever-changing challenges and technologies. If you’re planning to launch a SaaS business, you should get a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges it entails. In this article, we’ll go through the process of creating a SaaS solution step by step.

What’s in this article?

• Where to start when developing a SaaS solution
  
• Why develop a SaaS solution?
  
• How much does it cost to build a SaaS application?
  
• The challenges of developing a customized SaaS solution
  
• The development process of a SaaS solution
  

Where to start when developing a SaaS solution

The first step to developing a SaaS solution is to come up with the right idea. Before going into specifics, let’s outline what a SaaS solution is.

With a SaaS, the provider (i.e., the startup) hosts the software and the infrastructure, which users access through a browser or app. The benefit of this business model is that users can simply subscribe to a service instead of having to purchase and install software, which lowers their upfront costs.

SaaS solutions all rely on the same operating model, but they implement a wide range of ideas. In France, popular examples of SaaS include Doctolib, PayFit, and Yousign—and the field is expanding across numerous sectors. For example, the appointment-booking platform Planity serves over 40,000 small businesses, while Solteo is a French application catering to renewable energy installation businesses. This diversity illustrates how SaaS solutions can have an impact across industries.

Why develop a SaaS solution?

Launching a SaaS business in France can be a great opportunity for both entrepreneurs and customers. The ongoing advances of new technologies and the opportunities created by artificial intelligence (AI) are driving businesses to seek out innovative solutions—it’s the perfect environment for startups to thrive.

Benefits for businesses

Unlike with traditional software sales, a subscription model creates a steady revenue stream. It can scale as a business’s user-base expands, supporting growth without requiring substantial investment in infrastructure. The customer’s ability to access the software online, regardless of their location, opens up new market opportunities for the business—including globally.

SaaS offerings are relatively easy to manage, ensuring consistent quality and security. Providers generally handle the upgrades and the infrastructure, optimize customer support, and gather valuable insights to enhance their functionalities. This control is key to developing a stable business model that fosters customer loyalty and business expansion.

Benefits for customers

Customers who choose a SaaS solution enjoy various benefits—there are no installation costs, and it’s not necessary to make significant investments in hardware. Because the supplier takes care of maintenance and updates, customers don’t need to worry about technical issues.

Flexibility is another key advantage. Many SaaS providers offer customization options to suit their customers’ specific needs—technology’s ongoing, fast-paced advances are driving businesses to seek customized SaaS solutions, which are considered reliable and stable over the long run.

How much does it cost to build a SaaS solution?

The cost of developing a SaaS solution hinges on factors such as the complexity of the supported functionalities, the design of the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX), the development of the front end and the back end, and the integration of third-party services. Giving a precise estimate is difficult.

The type of SaaS solution (e.g., CRM, financial tools, etc.) has a major impact on costs, in addition to whether the development team is in-house, outsourced, or involves freelancers, and where the team is located geographically—this determines hourly costs. Marketing should be factored in also, with costs varying greatly based on the target audience; a SaaS solution aimed at an international market will typically require more marketing resources than one solely geared toward the market in France.

Further, the cost to develop a SaaS solution varies based on its complexity:

• Basic application: €20,000–€80,000 on average
  
• Medium-complexity application: €80,000–€150,000 on average
  
• Complex application: Over €150,000 on average
  

These are merely indicative ranges. To estimate costs as accurately as possible, you will need to define the scope of your project and conduct a detailed market study.

A startup looking to reduce costs can initially focus on offering the minimum viable product (MVP)—the simplest version of the product, featuring only its core functionalities—to attract early users and validate its idea with the least amount of effort. The main objective is to collect user feedback quickly to inform future development.

How are SaaS platforms regulated in France?

As an EU member country, France enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which standardizes the protection of personal data. Since 2024, an additional law in France (Law No. 2024-449) has aimed to secure and regulate the digital space. All SaaS platforms are subject to these regulations.

Businesses must enter into SaaS contracts with all the parties involved, including hosts and subcontractors, to ensure transparency, traceability, and data security. SaaS providers operating in France are also required to implement adequate security measures under Article 32 of the GDPR, keep data processing records, and make sure that third-party service providers offer sufficient data protection guarantees.

The challenges of developing a customized SaaS solution

To create a SaaS, you will need a team of developers and a marketing team. You will also need to comply with the legal requirements to set up a business in France, including the adoption of a corporate name and a legal structure, among other things.

Developing a SaaS solution comes with unique challenges:

• Data security: Robust security features are required to protect sensitive user data stored in the cloud.
  
• Architecture scalability: The solution should be able to support rapid growth in terms of user numbers and data volumes.
  
• Integration: It’s important for the SaaS to enable integration with other systems and applications, as customers frequently rely on multiple SaaS solutions.
  
• Reliability and availability: Your SaaS should be reliable enough to ensure an optimal user experience. Maintaining application performance, even with a large number of users, is an ongoing challenge.
  
• Cost management: To meet different customer needs, choosing the right cloud infrastructure and defining a pricing model are key financial considerations.
  

Stripe Billing addresses these challenges by simplifying the billing process for your future customers. Opting for a custom-built tool allows you to create your new SaaS solution without having to take care of accounting issues.

The development process of a SaaS solution

Here are the key phases of the development of a SaaS product.

Design

It all starts with an idea for a SaaS that addresses a clearly identified need in France’s market. Planning a SaaS solution involves the following steps:

• Conducting initial market research to assess customer needs
  
• Carrying out a competitive analysis and a gap analysis to validate the idea and identify underserved market segments
  
• Defining the features for the minimum viable product (MVP) to support a quick, iterative launch
  

Development

Once the design has been validated, the actual development gets underway. The development should focus on the creation of a seamless, user-friendly interface and experience. In addition, you need to handle:

• Back-end development, which sets up the server architecture and functionalities
  
• Front-end development, meaning the creation of the user-facing interface
  
• Thorough testing carried out at every stage to ensure the application’s performance and stability
  

Launch

Launching your SaaS solution involves deploying the application on a dependable cloud infrastructure. Here’s what you need to do at this point:

• Ongoing corrective and adaptive maintenance to ensure customer satisfaction
  
• User feedback collection to aid in iterating and upgrading the product continuously
  
• A robust sales and marketing strategy to attract and retain customers
  

You’ll need to tailor this outline to your specific needs, but it can serve as a road map to develop your SaaS solution in France.