Software as a service, or SaaS, is very popular in the to-B business. This article will take a look at the trends in the SaaS industry.
In today’s competitive business environment, SaaS is increasingly becoming the best choice for enterprises to continuously explore highly accessible and versatile software services. Companies can run SaaS software solutions and online data analytics without having to install and run applications on their own computer systems and data centers. SaaS innovations derived from different usage scenarios occur and become popular almost every year.
According to one study, the average number of SaaS applications used by organizations has doubled since 2015, from eight to 16. In addition, the statistics show that the global workload of SaaS organizations reached 1.32 billion yuan in 2018 and is expected to continue to grow to 2.43 billion yuan in 2021.
In recent years, the SaaS industry has been on the rise, especially in the past year, which has seen a breakthrough in growth. Due to the impact of the global epidemic last year, online learning, cloud office and other market opportunities emerged in large numbers, so SaaS also gradually attack the cloud computing market, it is predicted that by 2022, the value of service-based cloud application industry will reach 920.2 billion yuan — this growth level will determine the trend of SaaS in recent years.
Before discussing SaaS trends, let’s first look at what SaaS is and how it works.
SaaS and how it works
SaaS (Software as a service) is a software distribution model that provides companies with great flexibility and cost effectiveness. Its simplicity, user accessibility, security, and extensive connectivity have made it popular in the TO B market, and today, most business intelligence transformation companies are using SaaS BI tools to assist their strategy implementation. Overall, the SaaS platform simplifies the business model, resulting in increased efficiency across the board.
The SaaS model deals with a software delivery approach that allows any device to access data over an Internet connection or a web browser. It is a Web-based model, and the software vendors that distribute it are responsible for hosting and maintaining the servers and databases, as well as developing the application code that needs to be used in the SaaS model.
The biggest advantage of SaaS is that it eliminates the hassle of installing and maintaining software. All users need to do is access the software with the help of an Internet connection and a browser. This process eliminates the complexity and expertise involved in software and hardware management.
For example, Baklib is a SaaS based product that allows customers to write and publish knowledge bases, help centers, product manuals, etc., on a subscription basis, in order to achieve low-cost internal enterprise connectivity and external user retention.
SaaS: Key features
An estimated 73% of organizations report that by 2021, almost all of their applications will be SaaS based. At the same time, 93% of CIOs have adopted or plan to adopt cloud-based SaaS software services to save their companies costs.
So what makes SaaS so popular? The main thing is that this pattern provides convenience for users, and here we use a simple analogy to help us understand.
We regard the SaaS model as a banking institution, where we conduct business to satisfy our financial needs and other desires. Banks usually use the same financial systems and technology to serve all their customers, but we don’t always worry about the security of our personal data, accounts and private information, because we know that banks provide highly secure and reliable services on a large scale and have a responsibility to protect the privacy of every customer. We also understand that no one else can access our information without permission and authorization.
Similarly, SaaS is a basic model for providing secure and convenient services to multiple users. The following are the main features of SaaS:
- ** Multi-tenant pattern: ** Just like banks, in a multi-tenant architecture model, all users and applications share a common infrastructure and code base. Because SaaS vendor customers are all on one platform and code base, vendors can quickly and efficiently centralize maintenance and change, which also saves a lot of development time and costs.
- ** Flexible payment methods: ** With SaaS systems, enterprises do not have to spend money on software and hardware facilities, and also eliminate the time of installation and deployment, which is ready to use. SaaS providers often price packages with different features, and businesses can choose to buy services based on their needs.
- Scalability: Cloud-based SaaS, due to its inherent scalability, enables enterprises to easily scale functionality. Enterprises can selectively purchase function package services according to their own needs.
- Updates: SaaS providers are responsible for product updates and the development of new features, so companies don’t have to spend a lot of time and extra money on this.
- Accessibility: With the help of SaaS system, enterprise target users can access information from multiple ends, which is convenient for end users to refer to and use, and conducive to enterprise customer retention.
- Enhanced collaboration: SaaS enhances an enterprise’s ability to collaborate across teams and departments, facilitating knowledge sharing and team collaboration.
- Security: Most SaaS models are known for their enterprise-level security, which is a more comprehensive security model than most centralized, in-house deployment solutions. In cloud SaaS, it is perfectly possible to recover misdeleted data and so on, which means that your enterprise data is safe and available no matter how many system failures occur.
Now that you understand the key features of SaaS, let’s take a look at the future trends of the SaaS industry.
Trends in SaaS industry
Currently, enterprises are beginning to develop SaaS integration platforms (or SIPs) to build additional SaaS applications. SaaS has gone beyond stand-alone software functions to become a key platform for applications in different application scenarios. Statistics show that the total size of the public SaaS market is expected to reach 920.2 billion yuan in 2020, with 80% of enterprises already using at least one SaaS application.
Because SaaS models are highly flexible, scalable, and cost effective, more and more enterprises are adopting them. SaaS has been well used across a range of domains and industries. Some of the most common areas for SaaS applications are :(1) collaboration/social media/business communications; (2) Customer relationship management; (3) Customer service and support; (4) Human resources and talent management; (5) E-commerce; (6) Product procurement; (7) Business management; (8) Software development and QA/QC testing; (9) Business intelligence; (10) Business analysis; (11) Budget, reporting and operational planning; (12) Governance, risk and feasibility assessment; (13) ERP, manufacturing and supply chain; (14) Financial and accounting systems.
All the signs are that the SaaS industry has a promising future and will lead the way in growing in a more diverse direction. Specifically, it can be summarized as the following 10 development directions.
- Artificial intelligence (ai)
- Machine learning
- Focus on analysis
- Vertical SaaS
- API connection requirements
- Wo SaaS
- Migrated to the PaaS
- Micro SaaS
- Mobile optimization
- Low code development
conclusion
These 10 fundamental trends will shape the SaaS landscape for years to come. Since last year, many SaaS developments have emerged, and some have grown, paving the way for the industry to move forward.
As more companies move to cloud-based, data-driven applications, the scope for software innovation is expanding. Most importantly, these encouraging trends in SaaS are testament to our growing social need for powerful, software-centric, comprehensive solutions, and to the possibilities for lasting growth in the industry.