With $billions invested in digital transformation over recent years, it is little surprise that IDC’s 2020 forecast predicts a continued commitment to the digital enterprise. Moreover, it’s even had a fresh new look for 2020 as the ‘digital-first’ enterprise.
What is interesting is the estimation that over the next five years over 90 percent of new apps will be cloud-native, many developed by enterprises themselves to address specific business goals and challenges. More so, this coincides with the current SaaS trend that we’ve been observing for quite some time.
In fact, IDC estimate that almost two-thirds of enterprises will be prolific software producers themselves in a bid to innovate and differentiate in areas of AI, automation and other performance-enhancing technologies.
What does this mean for application developers and ISVs?
Well, there’s little doubt that the business world’s love for SaaS will continue, creating a market of more than 500 million digital apps and services by 2023 and with almost three-quarters of companies operating entirely on SaaS.
But for SaaS developers, the challenge of securing revenue from tightly squeezed margins and subscription purchase models remains real. In a high-pressure marketplace, differentiation, best-fit and customer loyalty are paramount. These key selling points shape the way for a new SaaS trend, and we believe integration holds the key to all that.
The overall SaaS trend goes towards ecosystems
Differentiation:
In 2020, top rated SaaS products won’t necessarily be the ones that offer the most functionality – they might not even be the best product. With more value than ever placed on operational data – its collection, sharing, application and analysis – there is a bigger focus on how applications fit into data’s journey around the enterprise
Best-fit:
Companies don’t buy standalone products any more, they buy solutions or ecosystems – groups of products and services that fit together. The easier your application integrates with others, the easier it will be for customers to choose it. Therefore, look at building interoperability into design or talk to us about how our iPaaS can enhance your product.
Customer loyalty:
Enterprises will be more demanding of their SaaS products. Hence, continued growth in the market means more competition for revenue and loyalty. The subscription model doesn’t force the same lock in as traditional purchasing, so embedding features – such as integration – that make customer stick around is paramount.
Quick conclusion on SaaS industry predictions
Obviously, the SaaS market is going from strength to strength. Considering this, you can help your products stand above the competition by thinking about how integration and interoperability can help the business case for purchase and loyalty.
