SaaS solutions have become indispensable in today’s world. Entire companies base their daily business on SaaS models and benefit from maximum flexibility and almost unlimited scalability capacities.
SaaS is therefore one of the most important cornerstones for modern, sustainable work. At the same time, new technical possibilities and SaaS trends are constantly emerging, which has a corresponding effect on the available solutions.
This article contains all the necessary information about the latest SaaS trends and how they can influence the everyday work of many companies and users.
What is SaaS Anyway?
SaaS stands for “Software as a Service”. It is based on a model in which a customer can use a specific IT software application online, but does not have to purchase it.
All the customer has to do is pay fees to the respective provider, who then provides the SaaS solution.
The main reason why so many users prefer this method is that the provider not only takes care of the provision of the software but also deals with all the maintenance and updating. In this way, users can be sure that SaaS trends will not pass them by.
In addition to the all-around package that a user receives as soon as they start using a SaaS solution, they can also enjoy other advantages. This includes, for example, the flexible scalability of SaaS applications.
Depending on which capacities a user currently needs, he/she can add or debit them according to his/her needs. At the same time, the provider can also react extremely flexibly to the requirements of the customers – regardless of whether they need more power, larger capacities, or additional applications.
All three factors (i.e. performance, capacities, and applications) are also extremely important in connection with the 2022 SaaS trends. But more on that later.
It’s also worth talking about IT security, which is yet another huge advantage of IT solutions. Here, too, the provider can relieve the user, since the complete security concept of a SaaS application lies on the provider side. As a result, the user can fully concentrate on other things without having to worry about hacker attacks or the like.
The cost factor is also quite important when it comes to SaaS. The leasing model for software applications makes the costs for the user significantly lower than if they bought the entire software themselves.
Being a web-based service that is used on-demand, many of the costs are borne by the provider. With that in mind, the latest SaaS trends can be truly special.
SaaS Onboarding
The user onboarding experience can define your customer’s relationship with the product. In other words: it is crucial. Intelligent user onboarding can be used to teach behaviors that permanently increase engagement with the product. This results in enthusiastic customers.
SaaS onboarding is the process that users go through to become familiar with a SaaS product.
The main goal of this process is to familiarize new users with the product and to integrate it into their everyday work.
The SaaS user onboarding process does not end after the introduction and setup of the account and can continue for weeks. Depending on the complexity, new users may need some time before they can trust your product.
Meanwhile, you should try to build a customer onboarding journey map, as it can help you to significantly improve the outcomes of the customer onboarding process.
Regardless of whether your product offers a free trial, a freemium model, or paid access only, the first few weeks after registration is essential for good SaaS onboarding.
How long a SaaS user onboarding process should last depends on your product. Of course, you could show every user all of the features that you have at your disposal, but a clearly defined value proposition definitely makes more sense, because relevant content is a lot more effective.
What To Expect From The Rapidly Growing SaaS
New year, new ideas. In 2022, the software industry will again come up with new technologies to make things even easier for companies. Below is the list of five SaaS trends to watch out for this year:
1 Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly established in today’s world. This also applies to SaaS applications. There is great potential in the combination of SaaS and AI. Three things that benefit from this the most are: security, speed, and personalization.
AI enables automated processes, which, in turn, helps to recognize patterns. In this way, possible cyber threats can be detected more quickly, security risks can be eliminated and protection against attacks can be improved.
In addition, SaaS together with AI can accelerate the internal processes of companies and thus increase their overall responsiveness. This can lead to numerous advantages, especially in customer service. In addition, technologies such as automatic voice control can help make software easier to use.
2 Growing Demand for API Connections
Is it better to migrate data to the cloud or integrate it into the existing infrastructure? This question is asked by many companies that are starting to work with SaaS solutions. Because the latter should definitely be able to be integrated into an existing business system. And that’s where API (Application Programming Interface) comes in.
As an important part of software development, APIs ensure that cloud-based SaaS solutions can be integrated into the user’s IT infrastructure. Now you must be wondering why APIs are part of the SaaS trend when they are actually nothing new?
The answer to this question is quite simple: while it used to be the case that third-party providers had to provide the specific APIs required in each case, more and more SaaS providers are now opting for shorter paths – and now offer the necessary integration options. This allows users to enjoy SaaS to the fullest.
3 Vertical SaaS
Fully customizable to customer requirements, extremely flexible, and completely individual – these are so-called vertical SaaS solutions. They are definitely one of the biggest SaaS trends for 2022, as they promise companies from all industries their very personal, specialized software solutions.
This allows them to tailor their own software services to the respective customer needs in their industry. The advantages are as follows: more flexibility, better upselling opportunities, and lower customer acquisition costs.
4 Machine Learning
As a sub-area of artificial intelligence, machine learning will also increasingly prove to be an important factor for the SaaS trends in 2022. It will ensure that companies can use SaaS to automate a number of internal processes and, in particular, improve customer service.
In addition, machine learning enables software applications to learn from every task or interaction, gaining a higher level of intelligence and efficiency and thus continuously improving themselves. Machine learning is already considered one of the fastest-growing segments in the software industry and is definitely one of the most important SaaS trends this year.
5 Improved Mobile Optimization
Working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, regardless of time and place – that is typical of the modern world. There is no question that SaaS applications must be able to meet these requirements as well.
The corona pandemic has shown how important flexibility and technical independence are. This is another reason why the development of responsive mobile features and functions, free access to software applications, and the improvement of augmented and virtual reality functions are among the SaaS trends for 2022.
