Knowledge hub · 4 guides

SaaS & enterprise platforms

Software you subscribe to instead of install: ServiceNow, Salesforce, HubSpot, Atlassian and thousands more.

What it is

Software as a service (SaaS) is hosted, run and upgraded by the vendor; you pay a subscription, usually per user per year. Enterprise platforms such as ServiceNow and Salesforce go further: they ship core apps plus a platform for building your own on the same data.

The work for IT service firms is implementing, configuring, integrating and running these platforms. The discipline that matters most is staying close to standard, so the vendor's upgrades land cleanly.

Explainer

Configure before you customise

← Easy upgradesUpgrade risk →

Configure
Settings, forms, fields, rules and workflows the vendor supports.
Example
Add a field and an approval to a request form
Extend with low-code
New apps and flows built with the platform's own tools.
Example
A facilities-request app on ServiceNow
Integrate
Connect to other systems through APIs and connectors.
Example
Sync customers between Salesforce and the ERP
Customise with code
Scripts that change how core features behave.
Example
Rewrite how incidents are assigned

Every step to the right makes the platform fit you more closely, and makes every upgrade more work. Good partners stay as far left as the business allows.

Guides

Guides in SaaS & enterprise platforms

ServiceNow

The platform for digital workflows: IT service management first, then HR, customer service and more.

Large IT organisations standardising on ITIL processes
Joining up IT, HR, facilities and customer service workflows
Replacing several help-desk tools with one

Typical project: 3–6 monthsSee vendors

Salesforce

The world's largest CRM: sales, service, marketing and commerce on one customer platform.

Sales and service teams that need one customer view
Complex B2B sales and account management
Industries with tailored clouds, such as financial services and health

Typical project: 8–20 weeksSee vendors

HubSpot

An easy-to-adopt CRM and marketing platform, popular with growing B2B companies.

Growing B2B companies
Marketing-led teams
Organisations without dedicated CRM admins

Typical project: 4–10 weeksSee vendors

Atlassian (Jira & Confluence)

Where software and IT teams plan work, track issues and write things down.

Software and product teams
IT service desks in tech-centred companies
Team documentation and knowledge bases

Typical project: 2–6 monthsSee vendors

At a glance

Guide	Best fit	Pricing	Typical project
ServiceNow	Enterprise IT service management and workflows across departments	Annual subscription, priced per fulfiller (the staff who work tickets) or per product suite	3–6 months
Salesforce	Customer-facing teams at scale, with complex sales and service	Per user per month, by product (“cloud”) and edition	8–20 weeks
HubSpot	Mid-size sales and marketing teams that want fast adoption	A free CRM tier, then per seat by Hub (Marketing, Sales, Service and more) and edition	4–10 weeks
Jira & Confluence	Software teams' planning, and service desks in tech-led companies	Per user per month, by product and tier (Free, Standard, Premium, Enterprise)	2–6 months

Glossary

Key terms

Per-seat subscription: Pricing per named user, per year, usually in tiers of features.
Instance, org, tenant: Your own copy of, or space on, the vendor's platform.
Release upgrade: The vendor's scheduled update, applied to every customer.
Sandbox: A copy of production for building and testing changes safely.
SaaS management: Tracking every app, owner, licence and renewal date.
Single sign-on (SSO): One login for every app, through your identity provider.

Also worth reading

Other areas

Find SaaS & enterprise platforms partners

IT service companies with these skills on their profile, every fact labelled with its source.

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