SaaS Platform Development: Why Writing Code Is Only Half the Battle

Most teams starting SaaS platform development think: "Write good code and it will work." Six months later, when the user count exceeds a thousand, the server starts choking. Pages load in 10 seconds, the database crashes at night, and angry emails flood the support inbox. Writing code is only half the battle.

What is SaaS and Why It's Not Just "a Website in the Cloud"

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a model where the software runs on the developer's servers and is accessible to users via a browser or API by subscription. Unlike a traditional website, a SaaS platform must:

• Run 24/7 without planned downtime (SLA 99.9% = no more than 8 hours downtime per year)
• Serve thousands of concurrent users without performance degradation
• Guarantee security and data isolation between clients (multi-tenancy)
• Scale horizontally — add resources without stopping the system

SaaS Architecture: What We Build Under the Hood

SaaS Development Stages

1. Architecture Design (2–4 weeks)

Before writing a single line of code, you need to answer three questions: how many users are expected at launch? what growth is planned for the year? where will the bottleneck be? Everything depends on the answers: stack selection, data storage strategy, caching approach.

2. MVP Development (2–3 months)

Minimum viable product. The core business logic is written here: authorization, billing, core functionality. The typical tech stack includes:

• Backend: Node.js / Python / Go — depending on load and team
• Frontend: React / Next.js — for fast SSR and SEO
• Database: PostgreSQL (relational data) + Redis (cache and queues)
• Containerization: Docker + Kubernetes or Docker Compose for the start

3. Infrastructure Configuration for Load — The Critical Stage

This is where most teams make a fatal mistake: they postpone server configuration "for later." There won't be a later. When your first 5,000 real users arrive, fixing things under load is like changing a tire on a moving car.

NineLab Fact: From our practice, 70% of SaaS performance issues arise not from bad code, but from improperly configured servers, lack of caching, and weak database configuration.

Server Configuration for SaaS with Thousands of Users

Connection Pool: Why SaaS Dies at 500 Users Without It

Every HTTP request to your API requires a database connection. PostgreSQL out of the box handles ~100 simultaneous connections. With 500 active users and no connection pool — the database crashes. PgBouncer allows serving thousands of clients through a pool of just 20–50 real connections.

Caching: 10–100x Speedup

80% of requests to any SaaS involve reading the same data. Caching it in Redis means offloading the database tens of times. Typical caching candidates: user profile, account settings, results of expensive computations, pricing plans.

Why NineLab Is More Than Just Development

We've walked this path in practice: creating high-load platforms serving tens of thousands of users. Our team combines backend developers, DevOps engineers, and high-load systems architects.

Real Numbers: What "Ready for Load" Means

A properly configured SaaS platform on a modest server (8 CPU / 32 GB RAM) can handle:

• Up to 10,000 concurrent users with smart caching
• 500–1,000 RPS (requests per second) without response time degradation
• API response time under 100ms for 95% of requests (p95)

For comparison: the same server without proper configuration starts struggling at just 300–500 concurrent users.

Conclusion

SaaS platform development is a marathon, not a sprint. Beautiful code without the right infrastructure is a Ferrari without an engine. The NineLab team builds products that handle real load from day one of launch.

If you're planning to launch a SaaS or have already run into performance issues — contact us. We'll audit your architecture and offer a concrete optimization plan.