Skilling up in SaaS with AWS Training and Certification

There are three main models of cloud computing. Each model represents a different part of the cloud computing stack. Each type of cloud service and deployment method provides you with different levels of control, flexibility, and management. As businesses aim to focus more on their core competencies, they increasingly turn to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to handle the undifferentiated heavy lifting.

In today’s blog post, we will focus on the available training from AWS Training and Certification to help support you on your SaaS journey, how to familiarize yourself with the challenges of operating a SaaS business model, and how to think through these problems from the SaaS lens.

What is SaaS?

SaaS is a business and software delivery model that enables organizations to offer their solution in a low-friction, service-centric approach. SaaS provides customers with a completed product that is run and managed by the service provider. In most cases, people referring to SaaS are referring to end-user applications. With a SaaS offering customers don’t have to think about how the service is maintained or how the underlying infrastructure is managed; customers only need to think about how they will use that particular piece of software.

Why tech professionals should consider SaaS training?

Over the last 10 years, the worldwide market cap for SaaS has grown from $31.4B in 2015 to $167.34B in 2023 (Source: Statista). In 2022, there were approximately 17,000 SaaS companies in the United States alone (Source: Statista). Demand for SaaS applications is accelerating and software builders are looking at SaaS as a primary business model to reach customers and scale their growth. As this demand continues to grow, the need for individuals with SaaS expertise grows with it. SaaS businesses face unique problems ranging from tenant management, compliance, cost attribution, automation, and more.

AWS Skill Builder and relevant training from AWS

The AWS SaaS Factory Program helps AWS Partners at any stage of the SaaS journey—whether you are looking to build new products, migrate existing applications, or optimize SaaS solutions on AWS. And AWS Training and Certification provides more than 600 free, on-demand cloud skills training courses across 30+ AWS service areas, including SaaS, via AWS Skill Builder.

Explore the following curated courses to build your skills in either the business or technical side of SaaS. However, we recommend taking both to help you understand the whole picture.

For individuals focused on the business aspect of SaaS on AWS:

• SaaS Business Fundamentals. This AWS course introduces strategic and operational aspects of managing SaaS solutions on AWS. It covers SaaS business model, operational efficiency, agility, metrics, and growth strategies. You’ll learn how to leverage AWS to optimize SaaS operations, drive innovation, and achieve business growth. The course provides insights into the SaaS business model concepts to guide development and strategy.
• Introduction to Cost Management for SaaS. This is a follow up to SaaS Business Fundamentals and this AWS course teaches cost management for SaaS solutions on AWS, supporting profitability and growth. SaaS solutions drive efficiency and innovation, but managing AWS costs can be challenging as usage grows. You’ll learn the importance of a cost-aware culture, strategies for cost visibility, optimization, and anticipating future costs based on growth projections.
• Introduction to SaaS Pricing and Packaging. Cost management is a key component when combined with the correct pricing and packaging. Pricing is critical for SaaS businesses – too high and customers won’t buy, too low and the company can’t make enough money. Packaging features in different plans and upselling customers are also important. This course provides the knowledge and skills to price and package SaaS solutions on AWS.

For individuals focused on the technical implementation of SaaS on AWS:

• SaaS Technical Fundamentals. This AWS SaaS course covers fundamental SaaS topics. You’ll learn tools to create efficient and effective SaaS applications. We’ll explore using analytics to inform development strategies and enhance operational efficiencies. By the end, you’ll learn the basic SaaS language, scalable and secure SaaS architecture strategy, and AWS resources. A basic understanding of cloud computing and AWS core services will help you get the most out of this class.
• SaaS Access Control Using Amazon Verified Permissions. This AWS course demonstrates how to use Amazon Verified Permissions for access control in a multi-tenant document management SaaS application. SaaS developers must manage permissions, fine-grained authorization, and isolation. The course shows how to use a per-tenant policy store approach and describes how to enforce the tenant boundary.
• Implementing SaaS Tenant Isolation with ABAC and AWS IAM. This AWS SaaS course teaches you to build secure and scalable multi-tenant solutions. You’ll master ABAC and IAM to enforce tenant isolation and data segregation. You’ll will learn how to design and implement a multi-tenant architecture that enforces access controls based on tenant identities, user roles, and resource types, ensuring data security and isolation.

If you’re interested in further exploration of SaaS and best practices, check out the Well-Architect SaaS lens whitepaper, as well as the AWS SaaS Factory Insights Hub where you can get access to a growing library of business and technical content, such as whitepapers, case studies, and best practices. Whether you’re new to SaaS or about to launch your first product, the Journey to SaaS guide is designed to help you on you build, migrate, secure, and optimize solutions on AWS.

Validate and showcase your knowledge with AWS Certifications

So, you’ve been diving deep into the world of SaaS, and are thinking about validating your expertise with an industry certification. Our 12 industry-recognized AWS Certifications validate AWS knowledge and skills, build credibility and confidence, and make it easier for employers to recognize your expertise.

The best place to start is with the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification. This certification validates your skills in designing scalable, reliable, and cost-effective architectures on AWS, which is crucial for SaaS solutions. It covers a wide range of AWS services, networking concepts, security considerations, and application deployment strategies. As a SaaS builder, you’ll need to understand how to create architectures that can handle varying levels of user demand, maintain high availability, and scale efficiently.

Already got your cloud basics down and want to level up? Jump into the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional. Building a SaaS solution requires a strong focus on automation, continuous integration, and continuous delivery (CI/CD) processes. This certification goes deeper into DevOps practices, including infrastructure as code (IaC), configuration management, monitoring, and performance optimization. You will learn how to implement DevOps practices to manage your infrastructure efficiently.

Given the sensitivity and significance of data in the SaaS environment, the AWS Certified Security – Specialty plays a big role. Whether it’s protecting user data, ensuring regulatory compliance, or preventing breaches, a deep understanding of AWS security practices and tools is essential. This certification delves into topics like encryption, AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), and monitoring, all of which are vital for SaaS platforms. Customers trust SaaS providers with their data, and a breach or compliance violation can damage that trust and the provider’s reputation. Read more on security careers in the cloud.

SaaS is a business model. This means that—above all else—adoption of a SaaS delivery model is directly driven by a set of business objectives. That is why leveling up in SaaS does not only make you a better technologist, but also puts in place a mindset and model that targets a specific set of business objectives. Equipped with the tools to understand both the business and technology implementation of SaaS on the cloud, you will be ready to go out and make informed decisions for your organization, whether it’s transitioning to a SaaS model, optimizing existing cloud infrastructure, or launching new SaaS solutions.

For further reading, keep tabs on the AWS Training and Certification Blog, participate in the AWS SaaS community forums and be sure to share your AWS Certificate credentials when you earn them (tag #AWSTraining!). We can’t wait to cheer you on.