The IT industry comprises many small and large segments. One such segment is the SaaS solutions. The acronym SaaS stands for Software-as-a-service. Indubitably, SaaS solutions are the fastest-growing segment of the IT industry. SaaS models are highly preferred by organizations for several reasons. Not only are they affordable in cost, but SaaS solutions also provide flexibility in work.
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SaaS Trends That Made A Difference
With the outbreak of a pandemic, the demand for SaaS is seen to be rising. The reason behind the growing trend of SaaS solutions is that the pandemic has necessitated more remote work than earlier. This software has brought a storm in the IT industry. The requirement for newer technologies and better competitive software is rising in the market. The reason behind the boom in the IT industries is that new startups are emerging as a result of self or government funding. SaaS products are flourishing because they need not be installed and managed separately. The software which needs to be managed separately is less preferred by the companies because such software consumes a lot of time. SaaS has discarded the requirement of locally installed and managed software. It creates a cloud environment where the software can be operated with a subscription.
SaaS is currently thriving because of its better quality and decreased costs. It has played a major role in the growth and development of the IT sector. SaaS solutions are efficient and consume very little time. It provides a service that is free from the barriers of maintenance and other such activities. After the pandemic followed by a complete lockdown, people have adapted to work remotely. The growth of remote work positively resulted in the growth of and demand for SaaS products. Furthermore, installation and setup of software on remote systems seems to be hectic work for the IT team of any organization.
According to the reports of experts, it’s just the beginning of the trend of SaaS products, and SaaS is expanding its horizon. SaaS products are soon expecting a boom in the upcoming years. If you are associated with an industry in this fast-growing world, you need to gain information about the latest SaaS trends across the globe.
SaaS in comparison to other cloud services
A lot of other cloud options are available, but the demand for SaaS is arguably higher. Experts say that the trend for the SaaS industry will continue to flourish throughout the years consistently. Growing businesses are relying on SaaS solutions for several different functions to be performed. SaaS has majorly taken a lead over other cloud services. Estimates have proved that SaaS will continue to be dominant over other cloud options in the next upcoming years as well.
IPOs & Acquisitions
Revenue projections are never a barrier to the growth of SaaS products. Large organizations continue to look for the new big SaaS things. This results in the increased demand for SaaS software. Innovators, enterprises, and entrepreneurs are encouraged to develop new and better SaaS solutions because they are receiving the best interest from the side of the investors. Investors invest a good amount of funds for SaaS products because of their popularity and growth in the IT sector. The economic growth of SaaS technology is stable for a long period.
List of SaaS Acquisitions in 2021
Significant SaaS acquisitions from the first half of 2021 consist of the following:
- DocSend was purchased by Dropbox after paying an amount of $165 million. DocSend enables a user to track and share files with the help of a secure link.
- Titan Cisco, networking hardware, acquired Kenna Security, a dominant system in the market for vulnerability management.
- ZoomInfo bought Chorus.ai in July for $575 million.
- Panasonic Corporation acquired Blue Yonder.
SaaS market size & adoption
SaaS growth can be measured in terms of the number of customers using less, more, or the exact quantity of SaaS products. SaaS products have a large number of users. The type and quantity of active users of SaaS products is rapidly growing over the last few years. Initially, SaaS products were ideal for startups and small market businesses, but now most of the companies prefer SaaS for their operations. SaaS is a flexible and affordable solution that supports digital transformation and quickness.
Report of recent research on SaaS products suggests the following:
- A growth of 18% each year is noted in the SaaS market.
- 99% of the organizations were relying on SaaS solutions in 2021.
- Small businesses (approx 78%) have invested in SaaS solutions.
- A growth of 20% is reported in the SaaS solution adoption in the healthcare industry.
- Around 70% of CIOs state that scalability and quickness are two of the top reasons for relying on SaaS applications.
SaaS benefits for the customer
From a customer’s point of view, SaaS tools offer several benefits:
- Higher strategic value is delivered by SaaS to its users. Software deployment time has reduced to a great extent with the introduction of SaaS tools in the market.
- SaaS providers are given sufficient funds by the investors to introduce better features of SaaS tools. As a result, the varied demands of the users are positively addressed by the providers.
- SaaS providers are also able to fix bugs, update security systems and improve push features. They meet the demands of their customers on time.
These features have made SaaS solutions popular among its customers. The SaaS industry is diversifying its tools and products keeping in mind the convenience and data security of its end users.
As a whole, the growth of the SaaS software industry will exist for a long period. Both small and large industries are relying on SaaS in some form. SaaS trends expect a boom shortly as well. SaaS providers are working on the introduction of better versions for SaaS tools.
Top 10 remarkable SaaS Trends for 2021
- Micro-SaaS
A few advanced tech companies are seen to be dominating the SaaS industry since its beginning. With the rapid expansion of the industry, a new trend has been traced. This trend came to be known as Micro-SaaS. The term is used for the minute SaaS products that offer only a single service. The single service could be an extension, software, or anything. In complicated scenarios, these Micro-SaaS tools will notice a high growth.
ChimpCharge is a part of Micro-SaaS. It can make payment invoices easily. Micro-SaaS is a small, easy to manage software. There is an increased demand for smaller plugging in the market instead of large software.
- Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most flourishing technologies for the 21st century. Experts believe that AI is indubitably one of the best inventions in the rapidly growing technological world. AI is a powerful invention that can help businesses to grow.
Demand for AI-enriched SaaS products is always on the boom because industries expect well-researched and informed decision-making. It is reported that AI software will grow at a rate of approximately 33%. AI features are used by the SaaS themselves for increasing their success rate. Daily tasks can be easily automated by AI. Also, Artificial Intelligence is cost-effective.
- Vertical SaaS
Vertical SaaS relates to the generation of services and SaaS tools targeted to a particular industry. The era has lost where a SaaS product could meet the requirements of several domains and companies.
Today in the fastest growing world, businesses and trends change rapidly, making it important to have a new & separate solution for every organization. The focus of the SaaS providers is shifting to different new challenges.
Vertical SaaS is beneficial in solving the issues of the industries. They provide better functions and support for industrial processes. SaaS solution startups are focussing on the development of vertical SaaS tools for industries. The trend of Vertical SaaS is most likely to boost soon.
- Mobile-first Development
An estimated report suggests that around 7516 million Smartphone subscriptions will be recorded by the end of 2026. SaaS companies have shifted their focus towards Smartphones because a large number of users are using them. Previously, SaaS tools and products were only accessible through desktops or PCs. This was seen as a barrier for the complete business processes when employees were away.
This situation motivated the SaaS providers to create mobile-first products. SaaS providers are creating applications that are easy to access through Smartphones. It has made it easier for the employees to work without a laptop or desktop. Now, the users can continue their work through the Smartphone without any hassle.
- White-label SaaS
In the current scenario, large industries are shifting towards SaaS tools to discard upfront costs. White labeling SaaS tools refers to affixing personal branding to SaaS services or products. This leads to an increased demand for personalized SaaS products.
Customization is a part of white labeling SaaS products. White-labeling SaaS products are expected to be the next trend because 77% of industries and users are interested in the providers who are experts in customizing the SaaS tools. White-label SaaS products are risk-free because the users are not required to develop and maintain software. Products are cost-effective and subscription-based. Instead of spending time building, users can acquire better software. Users can get their products customized as per their needs and requirements.
- API connectivity
APIs connected with SaaS software provide convenient working. As a result, integration with existing software rises. Businesses show less interest in altering their workflow and systems by introducing new tools into them. So, they prefer to deploy SaaS tools because it is easier to mix with the existing software. APIs play a major role when the users integrate with the existing software. Rather than changing the whole system, joining software with API connectivity is advisory. Replacing the whole existing software is a costly process and it can also lead to increased problems for the users.
- Data Security and Management
Around 36 billion data records were compromised and lost in 2021. It is quite important to keep your data safe & secure. The introduction of SaaS models in the technology industry has proved to be a perfect solution for these lost data. SaaS tools are more efficient and effective in comparison to traditional software.
Management and data security are one of the biggest challenges for any industry. The chances of leakage of important business information increase if the data is not encrypted properly. The companies may suffer heavy losses.
SaaS tools provide extra security to the data of its users. Users can go through the security rules and data privacy. SaaS tools with better management and data security skills are more likely to be in demand. To flourish in the industry, SaaS providers must enforce strict regulations and comply with GDPR policies.
- No Code Tools
The scope of SaaS solutions is rapidly expanding. They are not confined to just the technology industry. It becomes essential for the industries to develop such SaaS tools which can be used by non-tech people as well. SaaS tools are meant to make the work convenient for both the tech as well as non-tech users.
According to the reports given by the companies, only 60% of their users are from a technological background. The remaining 40% are a group of users belonging to a non-technical background. In this situation, it became important for the developers to develop simple to use and flexible SaaS tools.
To meet the above requirements, No-code tools came into existence. It is helpful for users who are new in the field of coding. SaaS tools like no-code have an amazing UI/UX that facilitates the completion of tasks by following only a few steps. No-code tools are effective and efficient to work. No-code tools are proved beneficial for the companies as it helps in increasing engaging users, increased revenue, and sales for the business.
- PaaS
PaaS software is expecting a boom in its value up to 101 billion USD by the end of 2022. This happens to be a great advantage for the company. SaaS businesses have evolved their branches into different corporations. The variations have brought them a lot of wealth and potential customers in the growing markets. PaaS is a part of one such market that is flourishing.
With the support of potential customers, SaaS businesses are more likely to transform the Platform as a Service (PaaS) business model. With the advent of this model, businesses will be provided with the necessary computing platform as a service by the service provider.
- Machine Learning
Machine learning has come to be known as one of the most advanced technologies that organizations can use to flourish. Machine learning is a section of Artificial Intelligence. It works towards classifying and predicting results from specific data.
It is beneficial for organizations because it predicts the outcome of data. It helps the businesses in taking correct decisions on time so that they can flourish. Businesses can make amendments in their objectives if they are aware of the outcomes before the execution. SaaS applications along with machine learning capabilities will continue to be in trend. In the competitive business world, demand for applications like SaaS is already very high. Companies are spending a large number of funds to saturate learning into their processes. This initiative will increase the market value of machine learning to $117 billion. Companies are always keen on the software and trends that can help them flourish in the market.
Conclusion
This is a rapidly growing world where demands change at a fast pace. In such a situation, it becomes essential for the businesses to cope up with the changes. SaaS software is the best available solution to adapt.
The above-mentioned SaaS trends will continue to earn its position in the industry. A trend lasts only for two to four years before it becomes outdated. SaaS solutions will continue to bounce back with its new trends. SaaS software is adaptable and quite flexible. It can easily adapt to the changing demand of businesses.
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