<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Glimpse Of SaaS\u2019s Journey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SaaS has been around here for almost 60 years.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back in the 1960s, computers were large and very expensive. Considering this drawback, IBM and a few other mainframe providers introduced the concept of ‘rented computers’.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mainframe contained the computing power and storage space. Multiple users were able to access and use them through the multiple \u2018dumb terminals’. This technology was of great help for small business firms who couldn’t afford the expensive computers.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And this system, also known as ‘time-sharing’ or ‘utility-computing’ was the earliest form of SaaS.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The system of renting computers continued till the 1990s. In the 1990s, cheap computers came into the picture. Computers became affordable for almost many people. This eliminated the need for \u2018rented computers\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the concept of SaaS didn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LAN ventured to expand the internet community. And, ASPs (Application Service Providers) emerged. ASPs advocated the idea of centralized computers. ASPs hosted and maintained the service created by third-party vendors, on the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SaaS derived its idea from ASP. But the SaaS companies differed from ASPs\u2019 as they built their own product. Owing to many issues and inefficiency, ASPs failed. SaaS sustained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The growth of SaaS after the 2000s can be seen alongside the growth of Salesforce. Salesforce is one of the first SaaS companies. It provided CRM based services completely based through the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beginning years, Salesforce advocated \u2018End of Software<\/em><\/strong>\u2019 campaigns to make people realize the advantages of the cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drawing people into cloud-based services and making them aware of the huge advantages, Salesforce began to grow effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Salesforce along with few other initial SaaS companies was instrumental in popularizing SaaS and driving people to adopt cloud services. With this exposure, people understood the major benefits of SaaS and started shifting to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The advent of Google, Hubspot, Amazon, and many other SaaS pioneers made SaaS grow steadily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SaaS in 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, in 2020, we are witnessing SaaS spreading its branches into various fields. Some are well-established branches, while some are tender and growing. A glance of fields SaaS is into: <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Virayo<\/a>, there are 11,000<\/strong> <\/strong>SaaS companies operating in the world<\/strong>. Another report from Blissfully shows that,<\/p>\n\n\n\n SaaS is an ever-evolving field. Needless to say, the SaaS market is filled with competition. Among all the hustle, how do you make your product\/company stand out? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping an eye on and incorporating these trends into your product ideas and goals can help you achieve that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thinking of SaaS growth, you will probably be wondering, <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Why do people seek this SaaS technology?\u2019 Here\u2019s your answer\u2014 the benefits a user gains from SaaS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything is cloud-based in SaaS and you can access it through the web. This eliminates the costs of physical installations in the building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SaaS is easily scalable. If a business expands, it can switch the plans to accommodate the changes. And the vendors take care of the rest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike the traditional software where the new release packages need to be purchased, it\u2019s much easier in SaaS. Updates are just a few clicks away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, we all are aware of the term \u2018remote work\u2019 now. SaaS enables the users to access from anywhere, which is empowering the business in times of the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the advantage of eliminating infrastructure costs, SaaS is affordable. The companies can opt for plans based on their size and need not spend beyond their capacity. The subscription model saves you from spending money without actual usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The world went upside down during the pandemic. But SaaS: it just did not just hang in there, it excelled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SaaS helped businesses to thrive, operate and stay connected. Seeing this happen, a few other businesses opted to switch as well. Many saw that SaaS was promising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, there has been a change in SaaS adoption rates. No doubts, it just went higher. Let\u2019s look at some of the SaaS adoption trends in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some businesses around the world might retain the current remote working conditions. Owing to the certainty of work even in uncertain times, preference for SaaS will climb the upward curve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n SaaS is growing even during the crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Compound Annual Growth Rate is estimated to be 18.2% for the period 2020-2027. A forecast shows that worldwide SaaS revenue will reach 151.1 billion USD by 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in which areas will SaaS flourish? Trends are here to let you know that. Let\u2019s begin to explore the trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in the SaaS field are expected to bring so many changes that will make SaaS an even more sought technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using Machine Learning technology, an automated response system can be implemented in SaaS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Salesforce, one of the first SaaS companies, has incorporated automation in various areas of its CRM services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take one of the automation \u2014 \u2018activity and alerts\u2019 This feature helps you track activities related to customers and alert you whenever required. This makes you have a better commitment to customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, chatbots can be employed for initial conversations. This ensures timely and personalized communication with customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Advantages brought in by automation are immense and will be a trend-setter going ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personalization is not just a sophistication now, it is becoming an expectation. From every message they receive to the service they opt for, customers love personalization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Spotify is a cloud-based music platform. SaaS provides personalized playlists for its users using machine learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n And the need for personalization will only grow in the upcoming years. Personalization can help improve customer engagement and provide customized service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With AI\u2019s data processing ability, personalization will be a piece of cake!<\/p>\n\n\n\n How many times have you thought, \u201cI wish I knew it earlier\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, now with the predictive analysis you can save that dialogue in terms of business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From knowing which one of your website visitors will possibly become a customer to which unhappy customer is about to unsubscribe to your service, predictive analysis can predict it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making use of AI-based data, predictive analysis, among the other trends will be a goldmine for sure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n SaaS adoption<\/a> is increasing. According to IDG\u2019s 2018 Cloud Computing Survey<\/a>, 73% <\/strong>of organizations <\/strong>have at least one application<\/strong> already in the cloud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n API helps in integrating two or more apps. Your customer will have existing systems and software. And they expect the new software they purchase to be easy for integrating with existing ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence interconnection is greatly sought in the SaaS market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cloud Elements <\/a>says that the software with easy integration facility have <\/p>\n\n\n\n Enough reasons to look into enabling API integration for your SaaS products. The truth is deep down we all love fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Virtual reality gives us a vision of the imaginary world while augmented reality adds imaginary elements to the real-life environment. Both are exciting for a human mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both VR and AR can be implemented in SaaS and used in various fields such as education, healthcare, military training, manufacturing, navigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ford motors employees<\/a> are using VR software to design their new vehicles now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith, one of the Ford Design managers, says that \u201cIt only took 40 hours to create a new vehicle design with the software. This is relatively very less time when compared to the designing period using traditional software.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This trend opens a lot of possible opportunities for SaaS enthusiasts to explore. SaaS works on centralized databases. Data in centralized cloud databases are vulnerable to attack. This is one of the major disadvantages in SaaS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blockchain technology is a distributed system. Blockchain system continuously verifies new data records. The technology also makes a copy of the entire blockchain when new records are added. Hence data loss can be prevented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This eliminates the huge drawback of data insecurity. Don\u2019t you think it\u2019s exhausting to open a laptop, especially when we have mobile phones, that are just a swipe away to use?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Easiness in access is what people are looking for. Having a mobile-first approach is the best way to satiate them.Mobile phones are handy too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to GSMA<\/a>, there are 5.20 billion unique mobile users in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, the usage of desktop for the web has been relatively low when compared to mobile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n And hence, making your product mobile-compatible is an important pointer to consider in years to come. Among the two types of SaaS, horizontal and vertical, the latter is believed to grow in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While horizontal SaaS covers a wide market, vertical SaaS is niche-oriented. One such example is HotSchedules<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n HotSchedules is a restaurant management software. It helps in labor management, inventory management, cash management, and talent development in the restaurant business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vertical SaaS companies focus on a specific area of business. And so, they can provide customized services to users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a> Customization<\/a> is on-demand. The upcoming years are for Vertical-SaaS products. It\u2019s in the smallest details lies the greatest satisfaction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Micro-SaaS is also niche-oriented. It is run by one person or a small team. Micro-SaaS products are built for solving customer\u2019s pain-point in using a product. They can also be add-ons for existing SaaS products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A micro-SaaS product built with the intent of solving customer\u2019s pain points\/ problems will only succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take Grammarly<\/a>. Almost every email user feels the need to proofread the content. A mail with basic language error may cause embarrassment on the sender\u2019s side and disappointment on the receiver\u2019s end. Grammarly understood this and created a solution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Grammarly can be used as an add-on\/plugin wherever text correction is required. Now it has almost 10 million Daily Active Users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People are looking for perfection and a better experience in every product they use. Hence micro-saas businesses will grow and develop in the future. Product Led Growth<\/a> is an approach where the customer-acquisition, expansion, and retention are done by the product itself. In short, your ultimate salesman is your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers don\u2019t want to believe. They want to know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A good user experience and a word of mouth from a satisfied user can earn you more customers. Hard to believe? There are already a few companies that have proved this point. One of them is Slack<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2014, Slack started off just without a sales team. The stats show the Daily Active Users of Slack in their first year. And the first 6-month growth was completely through word-of-mouth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wouldn\u2019t you rather prefer a friend\u2019s recommendation over the sales person\u2019s? That\u2019s how PLG works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, we know that buyers are evolving. And it\u2019s the end-user era. People only purchase after a satisfying experience with the products. It\u2019s a perfect time to consider a PLG<\/a> strategy for your business. Do you think businesses would have survived COVID-19 times without SaaS products? Absolutely not! Even virtual meetings were made possible through SaaS products like Zoom and Google Meet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Aithority<\/a>, SaaS is expected to have a $157 billion market share by the end of 2020.Remote working paved way for the increase in digitization. This indicates the growth of the SaaS business through COVID-19 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"SaaS](\"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Future-Of-SaaS-blogpost-01-2-1024x538.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"End](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/lKtPSQc70dIGYGNvdtDJlo2b6fT2ECrbGBBxPNq1yRps4EBnFLHjKF9qsijGJpkA7pkMo4poDTqMc-fVTibafFmVIOzsefyVXRX281jMZYIq6Jfo4unOW7ECzUuf1cpbz5DcHKdl\")
![\"SaaS](\"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Future-Of-SaaS-blogpost-02-1-1024x538.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"SaaS](\"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/future_of_saas-blogpost-03-1024x538.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"SaaS](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/Br-9QpDuPTo3a6jFirXt49c4u6DScvWZbH52delwKChkOrwksMjSDm8N1gSFRze1tbXIEd5YiRc5SvBs_oaZCtDVV5HnVYelgZ-lzzVrTeQxb1O8Sy-mhg5XYmPel4QgI1SV6kY5\")
SaaS Benefits for the users<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SaaS Adoption Trends<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SaaS Trends for 2021 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"SaaS](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/k6lxPBwIuIa8MopDLRjjyjCnbPmzR-auZiTColzNMfuycfc9NUyzqztzvMU7JNM1218LwGHRwZEF5cT-M2Ia2yRCbKKLIz_TMxJO_6ZxBSKhj5R-qg2dz_5NaDIv0OEmI_V_eJ1L\")
Technological Trends<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"SaaS](\"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Design_Infographic_-04-1-1024x561.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAI and Machine Learning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Automation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Components](\"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Future-Of-SaaS-blogpost-04-1-1024x538.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPersonalization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Spotify](\"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_20201130_131049-679x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPredictive Analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
API<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nVirtual and Augmented Reality<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nBlockchain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nMobile-first approach<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Web](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/XyZtJRAdwBJJX174JypQ1qcYbMhrRdtj4jwgFo4wyD--NIeqrZN_BndgUAj0bFTyuD38KCDi05KJkeyx9tTAEg-yhn3o7Ou34J-AccHAmB55OLhBCYj0D9azNeCwTQ6b2yMKjKAp\")
<\/p>\n\n\n\nType trends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Vertical SaaS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Evolution](\"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Future-Of-SaaS-blogpost-07-1-1024x589.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nMicro-SaaS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Grammarly](\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/hLZKVamtLov1cFGzwbksqXtZfMPyuN-D1akiZeZDYsd9zjAh_wY6K-8CEf2k5171hCk8W528gc6rVyjV8XOKbSXDRswTe0BW67784qLS2hwjNjubS7ad-ccXhDWShGreL51GHvuz\")
<\/p>\n\n\n\nOther trends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Product-Led Growth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Slack](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/nfxxt7Ve9SVOpxwjbrjaNUWJ_h2RM4JMmWU_8R724RHaKvszy2qkGt5zHzo8Ury7Xt2ILZHIMX3I940-eQ0566V9aSa1EZb6VAWBZygFEgGPW-Zbwax3aXqvLL-sGZbTj6YWGzpT\")
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Buyer](\"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Future-Of-SaaS-blogpost-05-1-1024x538.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nCOVID-19 and the SaaS market<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Zoom](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/_PmetgQz0A-dD-ywkBdBTdQ4mhBB8gSYcIEN6efX4RnBnycoP8D0mm0A2jK547Nnr_r4V4s8GIIfihCiDc1T5hwDHENtJvQVf94ouVC65a7w6fmkS0DF64_n-AM6X9a3vgZWo5Yf\")
![\"Future](\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/Uf6qYic9lLxtOuDr-IS2MQ5D0zmXBmT3SPmwSKayr2Gr3JhaZ90YNwJMAc09L-_0eomy8EGM0KCDAhWkvut9JhV1zikc06oVlBD_SlM3V5yI3ReYggC_fsztw-swNYnNaZpfGvWr\")
Post-Covid SaaS market<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"SaaS](\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/JDbRxIeraqVMGhOsGMne8hlOhvh-EHRtQo6cqltIqKWqoweSFwLjscHYR6YLUDaK6nAaz-vGOEKGHKftlSwzzoKdAqMjrljU2KU_uN6cs8xfz6nLk6wT8YUUujHYbQyGwrcDJGIj\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n