SaaS, or Software-as-a-Service, is one of the hottest trends in the business world. It shouldn’t come as a surprise as our world becomes increasingly digital. Not only has SaaS taken the world by storm, but it also shows no signs of letting up.
While technology companies should be aware of the way SaaS is transforming cloud-based solutions, SaaS companies are touching nearly every industry and the way we do business. If you use a computer in your company, you should be in the loop. SaaS is revolutionizing the way we do business, spend our money, and interact with one another. In fact, spending on SaaS grew by nearly 80% last year, a trend that’s expected to continue in 2019.
A Rapidly Changing World
The world is not slowing down. If anything, as the digital revolution (the latest technological evolution – think Stone Age, Bronze Age, the Industrial Revolution, and more) continues to grow, it is actually changing faster.
That’s one of the top takeaways from the SaaS revolution. Companies of all sizes simply must be willing to grow and change with the times in order to maintain their market share. Not only is the world changing, but so too is the marketplace. App churn, or the rate that people change the apps they use, remains high. In fact, the rate was as high as 40% in 2018.
This means that savvy businesses must be prepared to be competitive and stay ahead of the curve, regardless of the industry they serve.
Every Business Must Acknowledge SaaS
Even if you haven’t made note of the trends that SaaS is setting, you probably already have experience with SaaS. Even if the term itself is new to you, if you use a computer for your business, the biggest change is that you don’t install software using CDs anymore. That ship sailed long ago and most computers don’t even come with a CD/DVD drive anymore. If yours has one, unless it’s a custom solution, it’s almost certainly time to upgrade your hardware.
Locally installed software is a thing of the past.
Instead of purchasing software licenses, we now find ourselves purchasing subscriptions. From Microsoft Office to QuickBooks to Adobe’s Creative Suite, even software that was traditionally installed by CD is now cloud-based.
And really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With comprehensive products like G Suite from Google, Dropbox, HubSpot, Zoom, it’s not a matter of having to search for a SaaS solution anymore. Instead, it’s a matter of comparing products to find the best option for your business model.
So even if your business doesn’t directly compete in the SaaS marketplace, the SaaS technology revolution affects your company. And, while programs like Microsoft Office remain incredibly popular, they no longer have a monopoly on the market.
Affordability and Cost Savings
The beauty of SaaS is that it continues to open up the world for start-ups. What’s more, it’s making technology solutions affordable. They offer a plethora of options from entry level (and often free) solutions to more robust services that command a higher dollar. And, there are SaaS solutions in nearly every digital specialty for just about every price point.
Many companies are going completely cloud-based these days, and they are saving millions as a result. So affordability and cost savings really do drive the industry even as SaaS companies spend millions on R&D.
New Marketing Techniques
SaaS solutions bring with them new opportunities for digital marketing. Not only are we finding new ways of reaching audiences thanks to SaaS communications apps (think Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp among others), but there are new opportunities to improve our communications. Zoom, Loom and Skype are making it easier than ever before to connect visually with our audiences. And, they work well for short conversations as well as longer/larger opportunities to grow and transform.
A New Marketplace
If there’s anything we’ve learned from the SaaS, it’s that the marketplace is constantly changing. The best companies are the ones that stay at the forefront of the trends. They tend to focus heavily on solving their customers’ pain points. And, they are willing to make significant changes to build the most robust, user-friendly products possible.
These are important lessons to take to heart for any business in any industry. Regardless of the ways we reach and serve our own target clients, by focusing on the overall customer experience in a way that solves their problems, we can stay competitive. And we’ll be using SaaS solutions that are triggering this changing world, as well as improving our own processes along the way.