Once upon a time, the concept of having a personal “Cinema Fair” brimming with movies and shows in every language, readily available at home, seemed like pure fantasy. Imagine settling in for a night of entertainment, surrounded by endless choices – a technological pipe dream!
Fast forward to today, and services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have completely transformed how we consume entertainment. But have you ever stopped to think about the magic behind the curtain? The answer lies in a powerful technology concept known as Software as a Service (SaaS). Automation and digital transformation has spurred many organisations to adopt SaaS. SaaS has revolutionised the way businesses work and grow.
This edition of “The People Weekly”, we will discuss the SaaS ecosystem with a particular focus on India. As your trusted recruitment partner, PeopleLogic is dedicated to delivering this knowledge with dedication and purpose for informed decision-making.
SaaS- Software as a Service
SaaS stands for Software as a Service. It’s a method of delivering software applications over the internet, like a service. Instead of installing and maintaining software on computers, one has to simply access it via the web. This makes things easier because there is no worry about software updates or managing complex hardware. It’s a cloud computing application where, instead of installing software on a device, one accesses it through a web browser. The biggest use case of SaaS is our Gmail account.
While the SaaS model can be traced back to the concept of time-sharing in the 1960s, the late 1990s marked a turning point. Salesforce, considered to be a pure SaaS company, pioneered cloud-based CRM solutions, demonstrating the viability of delivering software as a service rather than a product.
There are mainly 2 use cases of SaaS applications, B2B and B2C.
Market Boom And Global SaaS Ecosystem
The SaaS market is experiencing meteoric rise. The SaaS market size was valued at USD 273.55 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 18% to touch USD 1,228.87 billion by 2032. At present, there are around 31,000 SaaS companies globally. Out of this, 17,000 companies are based in the US. These 17,000 organisations have a customer base of 59 million globally. It is estimated that by 2025, 85% of all business apps would be SaaS based. Currently 71% of companies globally depend on SaaS applications for digital transformation. Average organisation uses at least 110 SaaS applications whereas large organisations with over 10,000 employees use 447 SaaS apps.
Types of SaaS applications
The SaaS applications can be broadly divided into B2B and B2C applications. Target audience for B2B SaaS applications are businesses of all sizes looking for software solutions to improve their operations, efficiency, and productivity. Examples are
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Salesforce, HubSpot,Zoho, Slack, Freshworks, Zendesk etc
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): NetSuite, SAP (helps manage core business functions like finance, inventory, and supply chain, Sage, Syspro, Microsoft Dynamics 365
Human Resource Management (HRM): BambooHR, Zoho People (helps manage payroll, benefits, and employee records), Workday, KEKA etc
Marketing Automation: Mailchimp, Pardot (helps automate marketing tasks like email campaigns and lead nurturing), Semrush, Hubspot etc
Project Management: Asana (collaboration and task management), Trello (visual project boards), Jira etc
B2C SaaS apps are used by individuals apart from businesses to meet their personal or Netflix, Amazon prime, Spotify, Canva, Coursera, Duolingo, Grammarly etc
Indian SaaS Ecosystem
The Indian SaaS market is expected to touch USD 37 billion by 2028 from USD 12 billion in 2023. This is a 2% increase in the global market share from the present 6% global market share. Thus India will corner around 8% of global SaaS market share by 2028. As per a report by McKinsey, India’s SaaS revenue will be $50- $70 billion by 2030. India is home to more than 3500 SaaS companies.
Amidst the lull in the India IT industry, SaaS companies will drive revenue growth for the IT industry in 2024. As per analysts most SaaS companies have outperformed expectations, exceeding their revenue guidance for Q3.
Several factors are contributing to the Indian SaaS market’s impressive growth:
Digital Transformation
Talent Pool
Affordable labour costs
Rise of Indian SaaS Startups
Government Initiatives
Increased investments by VCs
Increase Internet Penetration
Despite the global economic slowdown, the Indian SaaS market is growing and maturing , now becoming second only to the US market. Majority of the Indian SaaS businesses operate in BFSI, big data analytics, human resources, and customer relationship management. Some of the major players in the Indian SaaS ecosystem are , ZOHO, Freshworks, Druva, Highradius, Postman, Icertis etc. As per IBEF” Centaurs are SaaS companies with more than US$ 100 million in annual revenue, representing a new level of success in the cloud world. Eight companies- Zoho, Icertis, Highradius, Browserstack, Druva, Eightfold.ai, Billdesk, and Gainsight, are known to be members of this elite cohort of cloud enterprises in India.”
Some of the future trends to look out for in the Indian SaaS market are
Integration with Gen AI. Currently almost 35% of SaaS companies are integrating SaaS application with GenAI
Increase demand for vertical SaaS which will meet the business needs of a particular industry
SME and SMBs adopting SaaS applications more than ever
SaaS application adoption by government agencies
More emphasis on compliance and security
Career Landscape in SaaS Domain
As per reports there were over 900,000 open positions for key SaaS roles globally in 2023 across product, sales and engineering. Last month alone, there were over 10,000 jobs available in the SaaS domain in India.
Some of the key roles in the SaaS domain are
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Software Development: Software Developers, DevOps Engineers, QA Testers
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Product Management: Product Managers,Product Owners, UX/UI Designers
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Sales and marketing: SaaS sales rep, Content Marketers, Marketing Managers etc
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Data Analytics : Data Analysts, Data Scientists, BI Analysts
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Customer Success: Account Managers, Technical Support Specialists, Customer Success Managers etc
Some of the major companies employing SaaS talent are Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Salesforce, Accenture etc.
To conclude, India’s SaaS industry has come a long way from its humble beginnings. With a robust talent pool, a supportive government ecosystem, and a growing focus on innovation, the Indian SaaS sector is poised for continued success. As Indian companies continue to scale new heights, they are redefining the global SaaS landscape, establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
PeopleLogic Opinion
The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) industry is experiencing a period of phenomenal growth on a global scale, and India is at the forefront of this revolution. The growing gig economy and thriving small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will drive demand for affordable and easy-to-use SaaS solutions.With its cost advantages and focus on innovation, India is well-positioned to capture a significant share of the global SaaS market.With increasing internet penetration and digital literacy in India, the domestic market will continue to be a significant growth driver for SaaS companies. However, the Indian SaaS ecosystem is not without its share of challenges. The saturation of the global SaaS market and concerns about compliance and privacy are some of them.
PeopleLogic with its 16 year expertise and experience has been a valued hiring partner for numerous SaaS companies. Our deep understanding of the SaaS industry and its specific skill requirements allows them to target qualified candidates efficiently. We identify candidates with the perfect blend of technical knowledge and SaaS experience, ensuring our clients build high-performing teams that propel their business forward.
