If you were to reboot your software organisation from scratch today, it probably goes without
saying that you’d set up as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company.

But if your business has been running for several years, most of your code has likely been written for on-premises environments. This means a move to SaaS comes with a heap of challenges, and it’s a comprehensive change that goes right to the bones of your organisation.

The shift is not just about unspooling decades of legacy code, but also a business-wide cultural upheaval that touches every department.

For a successful switch, everyone across the organisation needs to get on board. But how will each of your major departments be affected by this change? And how will their roles evolve?

This blog will walk you through the core functions that will need to change their established ways of working to successfully move to a SaaS solution. We’ll show you how to prepare them and what they need to do to benefit from the change.

If you have a plan for the transition – and how it will affect your business in every way – you’ll help unlock a new phase that’s vital for a company’s future growth.

Let’s take a look at how it’s done.

“In our journey, the C-suite’s commitment to the vision and transition was crucial. It aligned the business: ensuring everyone from Engineering to Sales heads in the same direction.” - Daniel Österhof

Let’s talk Sales

You will need to lay down the new reality: customisations are out; standardisations are in. Sales now sells a standardised service, not a product subject to changes from your offered service. So make sure your sales reps can explain the value proposition for a SaaS solution. An ROI calculator that shows all hidden costs in an on-prem solution, such as internal IT and upgrades, is a useful way of highlighting the benefits with a SaaS solution.

If you happen to work with sales commission plans, consider skewing them towards sold product revenue as opposed to – for example – professional services. Plus, you’ll need to review your discount approval process too, because running as-a-service generates the cost of goods sold (COGS).

This is a big change for Sales: it touches everything from how they sell to how they earn. So get them on board from the very beginning – and ensure they understand the reasons for the move.

Let’s talk Marketing

SaaS lets Marketing tell fresh stories to existing customers and prospects. They’re no longer selling customisable, bespoke solutions. Instead, they’re drumming up excitement about an easy-to–manage solution that automates upgrades and scales on demand.

So, Marketing must articulate the problems that you can solve now – and evangelise the
roadmap of features you’ll deliver in the future. They’ll also need to keep track of existing
customer behaviour to ensure they’re using – and benefiting from – the product. It’s a perfect opportunity to elevate Marketing to product ambassadors and give them the power to tweak messaging proactively in response to customer engagement.

A big change like this is always an exciting time for Marketing: it means new stories, new prospects, and new challenges. To help them succeed, make sure they collaborate closely with your product team.

Let’s talk DevOps

If you have two, likely siloed, departments for Development and Operations, it’s time for them to come together. Operations will support the applications your developers build, and the teams will need to collaborate to meet the expectations that come with a SaaS environment. Which means no more throwing apps ‘over the wall’ to Operations when coding is complete: the two are now equally responsible for delivering a service 24/7/365.

With a strong, integrated DevOps team, you’ll flourish in the SaaS world. And you’ll be able to iterate and innovate faster than ever.

Let’s talk Product Management

When you shift to SaaS, Product Management will quickly become one of the most important teams in your company.

Well, when you move to SaaS, your product management function will suddenly inherit a huge amount of responsibility. They need to own every aspect of the product life cycle: how it’s sold, how it’s marketed, how it’s run, how it’s supported, and whether it’s meeting SLAs.

And of course, they need both short-term and long-term vision of that lifecycle. In other words: you’ll need to start thinking of your product managers as the CEOs of your product. It’s not just deciding which features and functions to build into the next iteration – it’s managing the support, pricing, and profit and loss too.

The shift from on-prem to SaaS is all encompassing – and once you start, it’s better not to turn back.

The executive team must understand every aspect of the transition, and go all in, from day zero. That’s why preparation is key to make the most of a big change in ways of working.

For some, like DevOps, it will be a welcome, more efficient change. For others, such as Marketing, a shift in role might bring along some hiccups.

If each relevant department knows what they should be doing – and what the benefits of the change can be – it should be a much smoother process.

If you want a simpler, more profitable future it’s crucial you get your entire organisation to shift to an SaaS mindset. So if you’re reading this, don’t hesitate. Rally your departments. It’s time to transition.

Want a full breakdown of how to transition your product from on-prem to SaaS, including migrating your customers and moving to service delivery?

Read our field guide to B2B SaaS product transitioning here.

We're Monterro, an investment firm (of the get-your-hands-dirty with strategy and operational support variety) that helps Nordic software companies hit their biggest growth goals.

If that's you: let's talk.