What is a Saas Platform?

Swagat A. Irsale
Dec 27, 2025
3 min read

I will give platform examples from consumer business as they are scaled and have reached a Billion plus users. However Saas platform also works in a similar way. And Saas should not copy Saas; they should copy consumer businesses. Copy of a car will be a sub-par car; you know this.

Let's take the example of Uber. It connects drivers, consumers, and businesses to take them from place A to place B on demand with technology. In the process it touches third parties such as banks, payment processors, etc. Similarly, Saas platforms connect multiple sides and third parties through integrations which helps them grow revenue and scale user base … 🙋

So What is a Saas Platform?

There are multiple sides (entities or personas) which are working in tandem and benefit from each other. You can also say that each side does not have an identity as individuals.
Each new user once onboarded benefits the existing users. These are network effects. They are also referred to as Feedback loops. Every Saas platform has those and they work as catalysts for platform growth and scale … 💰
Saas platforms have tech components/ modules which can be re-utilised for scalability.
Another key pre-requisite for Saas platforms is to have facilities so third parties can contribute and the platform empowers the third parties by removing friction. Platforms can do transactions, innovations or both.
Platforms when scaled become an eco-system like nature where everyone is dependent on everyone to survive and thrive.

In simple terms this is the hierarchy = transaction >> feature >> components >> product >> platform … 👍

I am sure you get the idea by now. If you are building a saas platform there are a couple of more things which should be considered. As I mentioned before, I am assuming you have passed product market fit and have a decent paying customer base (5-6 million plus ARR).

While building the Saas platform there is a challenge of chicken and egg. In my experience, here is an approach to solve the chicken and egg problem. It worked for me. Please keep in mind that these are not easy, in-expensive approaches as the outcome is massive and exponential. Select a side which has volume, incentivise that side or offer it for free, gain momentum and critical mass.
After this charge the other side and incentivise them and get those onboarded. Building and scaling platforms is all about effectively managing this tug of war between multiple sides … 🏆
If you are enterprise Saas you can charge the customer with available products and build network effects, scale with the growing customer base.
Additionally, we need to follow an approach called ‘Coring and Tipping’. This came from a 2007 research paper. It says that all platforms should build and control the core in terms of functionality, business model and tech. This is called Coring. Tipping means allowing others to build around the core with freedom but not with the full freedom.