Software-as-a-service (SaaS) will be an incredibly popular and profitable industry in 2023. It has quickly become a viable option for companies looking for accessibility, functionality, and adaptability in the challenging market.
Companies are now able to run SaaS software solutions as well as online data analysis without relying on thousands of apps and data centers on their computers. That is why the popularity of the industry and its innovations is growing every day.
The market is now dominated by large giants who have already applied the latest trends and technologies to power up the business. Based on Gartner, one of the trends in the space is public cloud service, where its spending will grow by 20.7% to $591.8 billion by 2023, affecting the entire market this year.
Since trends are raising the demand for Saas and affecting how the business is going to operate in 2023, it is always best to stay at the curve of the market by knowing trends. Let’s explore 6 of the hottest SaaS trends and learn about them in detail.
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
It isn’t shocking news that Artificial intelligence has become the hottest trend in the entire market this year. Its applications and use cases are growing, and the SaaS industry also benefits from using this technology. New organizations are coming up every day, so there are millions of competitors for each product and service.
Nevertheless, everyone wants to differentiate themselves and stay ahead of their competitors. AI and ML can greatly benefit modern companies by offering them various tools and opportunities. For example, AI allows SaaS companies to better learn their audience and customer behavior for data-driven solutions. Among other benefits, AI allows to:
- Drive personalization;
- Create chatbots for customer support;
- Improve security.
Moving From Cost-Effective to Value-Based Purchases
With the increase in new SaaS platform development and more competitors reaching the market, customers in the market actively scout, compare, estimate, and decide before they offer vendors a chance to somehow influence their choices.
The democratization of access to data, evaluation, and comparison allows customers to complete the buying process even before talking to the vendor. The presence and growth of new revenue strategies to gather untapped value from prospects also show that pricing models now play a great role in SaaS buying decisions.
Increased Use of Tools
Thanks to the rapid growth of the SaaS market, the industry sees many changes in tools and technologies companies use to improve their service and simplify processes. This was also boosted by the pandemic and restrictions, where the need for more efficient and cost-effective solutions was a must.
For example, companies can now use cards that can effectively manage and control their finances. These cards are used within and outside the organization for SaaS purchases and keep track of all transactions for a better understanding of the organization’s resources and needs. Negotiating SaaS contracts has never been easier with new software arriving on the market, allowing SaaS businesses to benefit from seamless and fast processes.
The Rise Of Micro-SaaS
Even though maintaining market share can let SaaS vendors unbundle packages, the popularity of the micro-SaaS trend is mainly driven by the need to survive. We see that the lion’s share of SaaS providers has not established their brands in the market, so they have to rely on niches like add-ons and pairings with large and well-known providers.
Reports show that there were over 175,000 extensions available for installation from the Chrome Web Store in 2021, where only 45 of them were successfully developed and supported by Google. The popularity and growth of micro-SaaS solutions say the lopsided ratio of micro-SaaS to users — 70% of Chrome extensions contain less than 100 users, and only 8% of extensions have over 1,000 users all across the world.
Better Ways to Take on User Retention
The market sees a huge gap between customer expectations and satisfaction. Clients expect businesses to offer unique, personalized and positive experiences throughout their buying journey to stay loyal to them, while companies are trying to attract and please new customers.
The thing here is that most companies forget about their existing clients and their needs, switching focus to attracting new ones and exploring their needs. Both parties are vital and should be treated equally. One of the easiest ways for SaaS companies to increase user retention is by decreasing churn.
Plug and Play is Here to Stay
SaaS companies looking for data-driven decisions and cost-efficiency widely use low-code and no-code technologies to make life easier for them while also making it faster to establish new features and get initiatives up.
The world divides into regular development and no-code technologies, allowing organizations to decide what to use based on specific business needs. While development is a common choice, no-code and low-code approaches offer many benefits like cost reduction and fast speed.
As far as growth is essential and costs of development are growing, plug-and-play solutions will always be a lifesaver. They help companies to speed up the development process to get on the path to exponentially greater ROI without breaking the bank or worrying about back-end mistakes.
