Trends in SaaS: Top 8 SaaS Trends in 2020 to Incorporate

Let’s face it, SaaS has been with us for over a decade now, even though we may not have realized it. But, now that we are beginning to realize the immense benefits of this new industry taking a strategic approach to ensuring visibility to users is important. Knowing the latest trends in SaaS is key to staying relevant with users.

In this article, we will be enlisting some of the latest trends which you can incorporate into your business strategy. Read below:

Defining SaaS

Providing a definition is important if we are going to drive our point home in this post. So what is SaaS? It is an acronym that stands for Software-as-a-Service. This is a software application located in the cloud that users subscribe to.

Simply put, you don’t need to download the software to your computer, instead you access it using a browser. SaaS software are mostly business apps that help to improve the services and performance of a business.

One of the top advantages of SaaS is that the software are very easy to use and maintain. A vivid example is Google Docs. You don’t need to download this software and it costs nothing to use. As long as you have a Google account, you have access to Docs which comes with several benefits.

SaaS Trends 2020

The SaaS industry is growing very fast even though there has always been skepticism by analysts. There is no doubt that new trends keep emerging from this ever-evolving industry.

Vertical-specific SaaS Applications

For a long time, SaaS focused more on providing products that handle broad business functions. Such functions include accounting, CRM, sales, HR, etc. The challenge here is that a single kind of enterprise software cannot satisfy all kinds of needs.

This means that businesses will prefer SaaS products that are specific to their sector. For example, a telecom provider prefers to have software designed for their sector rather than general software.

This is where vertical-specific solutions come in. These apps will meet the needs of customers under a specific niche. Already, many SaaS companies are looking into creating this sort of apps.

Shift to PaaS from SaaS

This is one of the top trends in SaaS 2020. The idea is that SaaS providers understand that soon they must shift to customer retention from customer acquisition. One of the easiest methods of achieving this is through PaaS.

PaaS stands for Platform-as-a-Service and it implies the ability customers have to add apps to an original product. A vivid example will be Salesforce. This platform launched a “Force.com” which serves as a sub-platform on the main platform.

Many SaaS providers are already taking this step. This move allows these providers to not only attract new customers but grab their niche completely.

A Shift in Mobile-first SaaS

Once upon a time, mobile-first SaaS providers only succeeded with productivity apps. Another way they made an impact was through industry-specific apps. It was almost impossible for them to make an impact in the broader areas like sales and marketing.

The tide is fast changing with many of the mobile-first apps transitioning into real platforms. An example is Whatsapp. This transition is encouraging a new trend in this sub-industry. Why? They are catalyzing the move of many startup businesses to mobile platforms.

SaaS Unbundling

SaaS unbundling is among the top trends in SaaS for 2020 for several reasons. It is no news that many startup businesses are making a shift from offering regular full-featured products. Rather, they are investing in switching to APIs and tool suits that carry their essential services.

Let’s take Clearbit as an example here. Before, this API lets you enrich contact/user data. The logical thing would have been to offer a tool for contact enrichment. Instead, Clearbit created an API along with a few add-ons that work as a unit. The result of this is that customers can come up with their user experience depending on their peculiar needs.

To be honest, many SaaS categories are becoming overcrowded with similar products. This will lead to more startups focusing on providing tailor-made but user-friendly and rich services.

A Rise in Micro-SaaS businesses

There is so much competition in the SaaS industry these days and it doesn’t look like it will decline. The implication of this is that many businesses in this industry will find it difficult to scale. This will result in the establishment and growth of many micro-SaaS businesses to counter this effect.

Who runs these micro-SaaS businesses? Mostly small teams or even single individuals. What kind of products do they present to clients? Mostly complimentary add-ons. These add-ons help to include missing features on existing SaaS products or enhance the products.

The aim is to meet a need that the main products have overlooked. This way, micro-SaaS businesses can dominate their sub-niches completely. It wouldn’t be surprising to see these businesses begin to thrive more in 2020 and beyond.

Integration of Market Dynamics

Quite a number of SaaS providers are considering integrating marketplace dynamics into their operating models. This is one of the important trends in SaaS you should watch out for in 2020. Such marketplace dynamics include vertical or industry-focused players.

Here is an example to buttress this point. SaaS business in hospitality can create an app to help customers book hotel rooms. In addition, it makes available tools that will manage and optimize such bookings.

Why do we think this trend is on the rise? It is nothing more than the effect of market maturity. Businesses in this industry are beginning to understand that to stay on top, they must meet customer needs wholly. There’s no room for half services anymore.

Remote-focused SaaS products

The year 2020 has seen the world succumb to the coronavirus that has been labeled a pandemic. This has created a new world order in that many businesses are turning to remote work to survive.

SaaS businesses understand this need and have been quick to act. One of the trends in SaaS you’ll notice in 2020 is a focus on products for remote work. These products will help business owners and workers become more productive from the comfort of their homes.

For example, rather than engage in a physical business meeting, people will use Zoom or Zoho. Slack will help in communication and Google Docs will allow workers to share ideas via documents. With these tools, we might never need to return to the norm.

White Labeling

Simply put, a white label is a product or service designed by one firm and bought over by another. The purchasing company uses the product or service for their brand. This trend changes the whole story for SaaS industries.

Now you can design products that are very easy to customize and sell them. The client simply customizes the product or service to suit their brand. This makes it easy to enhance branding without spending excessively on development or infrastructure.

Conclusion

These are our top 8 trends in SaaS 2020. What other SaaS trends 2020 do you know? Share them with us in the comments section.