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Selling SaaS: 2020 Update
In a time when everything is up in the air, we can count on good old SaaS solutions to keep us grounded.
Yep, the good news is that SaaS (Software as a Service) won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Gartner has anticipated that SaaS will generate close to £82bn in 2020 alone, is this just good luck, or good business?
The answer is neither, really. It’s more that the industry as a whole has managed to make good out of a really really bad situation. The Coronavirus pandemic has forced companies to adapt to a different way of working, a cloud-based one. The only way is SaaS.
Let’s take a look at the remaining trends for the year to see if we really are depending on our software more than we thought.
What is SaaS?
SaaS is a cloud-based service where instead of downloading software onto your desktop, you access it through a specific application using the internet. Otherwise known as The Cloud. A SaaS application could be anything from the office software you use everyday to the platform you use to binge-watch reality tv. Or that one might just be me.
Why is SaaS important?
The importance of SaaS is nothing new. For the last couple of years the industry has enjoyed large periods of growth. This has been down to a number of factors, particularly its ease of access, low pricing, scalability and high security. That’s why now more than ever, SaaS is becoming a necessity for business owners.
In the middle of a pandemic, most of us aren’t up for making radical business changes. But if they’re low cost with no large upfront fee, you might think, why not?
That’s what SaaS has to offer. Most SaaS models operate on a pay-as-you-go basis, so you only have to part with your cash monthly or annually, depending on your subscription. If you’re going to take a risk, it might as well be a flexible one.
It’s also a real cost-saver later down the line. If you take into consideration what you actually need to spend buying on-premises hardware, as well as hiring and managing the people to maintain it, it often turns out cheaper all round. That’s why SaaS has become so important to business owners. They can still invest their budgets into new systems, even when it’s considered business critical.
Upcoming trends
PaaS Transgression
For the foreseeable future, customer retention will be at the forefront of every business plan. Due to the flexibility of SaaS, it can make it easy to leave, so there’s an increasing number of companies leaning towards platform as a service (PaaS) to improve and maintain retention rates.
Unbundling
Traditionally, SaaS services have been delivered as an all-in-one-bundle. For many, this is just a waste as most customers end up cherry picking their favourite features anyway.
Since we can’t afford consumer waste, many SaaS companies have started to unbundle their services, offering a variety of extras available as an add-on. Always look for SaaS solutions like CANDDi where you can pick and choose your applications.
Rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Sadly, the global pandemic has seen an abundance of job cuts. With less human resources in the field, many companies are turning to AI to bridge the gap. There’s no limit to what we can automate these days, from email campaigns to payment processing, there’s a robot for everything. Although be careful, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Check out our guide to using AI in your business plan.
When we need solutions fast, cloud-based software is the way to go, and it seems SaaS is pioneering the way for the rest of 2020. But will this growth be sustained? Or will SaaS reach its peak?
Let us know what you think/ your experience with SaaS solutions, particularly if they’re new to you this year! Get in touch at ellice@canddi.com
