Software as a Service is one of the, if not the most useful addition to the tech industry in the 21st century, arguably saving companies billions of dollars on a yearly basis. However, we’ve grown more comfortable with thinking that SaaS is just Microsoft 365 or our Google Drive without thinking of all the other cloud-based services that corporations use today in order to provide some of the best services.
As a matter of fact, our daily activities beyond our work in Google Drive, Slack, or various other cloud-based systems are also derived from SaaS systems. The most common use you most likely have from SaaS is your entertainment platforms. Things such as video games, movies, TV series and etc.
In this article, we will take a look at 3 different entertainment sectors that are currently using SaaS to provide better value.
Video Gaming industry
Many would think that video games have already been using SaaS thanks to Steam and various other gaming shops. But that’s not necessarily the case. Sure, the player is not required to have his or her own server where the game becomes available if it is multiplayer, but everything else in terms of hardware and software is required to be present on the user’s device. Things such as graphics processing hardware and the necessary software to run these applications as well.
Unfortunately Steam does not provide the type of service that ensures a polished gaming experience that everybody can enjoy regardless of their access to various resources. Thankfully, a couple of years ago, SaaS managed to effectively penetrate the gaming market thanks to Nvidia GeforceNOW and most recently with Google Stadia.
Essentially what these services do is they allow players to stream games on any device imaginable. The basics are that the player downloads the software from these companies and that’s it. The only thing the player needs to have is a purchased game. The hardware aspect of these games is then handled by Nvidia and Google without having to force the player to spend thousands of dollars on this equipment.
Most of these services are subscription-based, and not necessarily B2B, but there is some hint of it. For example, Nvidia has partnerships with both Steam and Ubisoft to effectively stream their games, while Google Stadia requires that players re-purchase the games they want to play if they want to have access. Other than that these services are completely B2C.
iGaming services
iGaming is also a very active supporter of SaaS systems given the fact that their core value is derived from these systems. For example, imagine that you access a gaming website with thousands of games being accessible with a simple click. It may be surprising but the platform you are on does not develop these games themselves, nor do they host them on their servers.
These games are developed by designated software providing companies that also provide wide bandwidth servers so as to not strain the servers of their customers that are already very busy with housing customer data, monetary information and etc.
One of the first cases of SaaS appearing in iGaming was with VIP casino games for Canadians in the late 2000s. Websites were becoming aware of how expensive it was to host games on their own servers, forcing them to violently advertise their platforms to somehow make a profit. Thankfully, many soon realized that outsourcing the development and hosting of these games was much more profitable when looking at the net profits.
In terms of iGaming business, SaaS is completely B2B and then materializes into B2C once a player requests access to a specific game.
Streaming channels
This is pretty obvious. All of the streaming channels that you may be subscribed to like HBO, Netflix, or Disney+ are a very clear representation of SaaS. In fact, the movie industry has been a SaaS user for decades now, as cheesy as it may sound.
You don’t see large film studios buy movie theatres (although they do sometimes) to host their movies, right? No, they outsource the premiers to theater owners that they provide the hardware and the software to showcase these products.
The same goes for TV channels that would pay or be paid by the moviemakers to showcase it on the channel, preventing the filmmakers from making a TV studio just for showing one movie.
In the modern days, this is represented through streaming channels such as HBO, Netflix, Hulu and etc. But, in this case, it’s more B2C focused. The viewer is not required to have a studio of their own to view these movies. All they have to have is a device of any sort and an internet connection with a subscription package for the service provider.
Overall, we hope that this small list helps you understand just how much SaaS has become a part of our modern daily lives.