This 2020 has meant for many companies with total security, one of the worst years economically. The pandemic caused by Covid-19 has meant numerous rules for shops that have led many of them to have negative balance sheets. Some economic sectors have suffered more than the rest, but what has happened to the SaaS sector?
According to Epdata, the global economy will record a contraction in GDP of about 3%. This brings us to a situation experienced only at times like the Great Depression suffered in 1930, before World War II.
Looking to the future and if the pandemic is being controlled, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) says there will be an uptick in GDP of 5.8%. A great injection of morale for the economy that would be “recovered” in a short time.
SaaS market impact
When we talk about this pandemic that we have had in 2020, most of the time we come to mind the confinements by zones, the time “locked up” at home, the difficulties of going to areas with many people, the change or in communication with our friends, the change of work…
We are then talking about a situation where SaaS moves like fish in the water. One of the situations that have favoured SaaS the most has been the forced start of telework. Many companies have seen the need to own secure software such as those hosted in the cloud. These SaaS have helped many of the companies maintain normality, in quotation marks, within their work.
According to IDC’s studies, 73% of companies that own applications will turn them into SaaS in the short term. On the other hand, this study also shows some very interesting data, such as that of the expenditure that will be made in the cloud, SaaS will contribute is 60% of the total.
We’re talking about some very hopeful figures for the SaaS business. Therefore, we cannot speak of a bad year, much less, for the SaaS sector.
With this pandemic, a new model of customers has been uncovered, who are crying out for a shift towards more flexible jobs with new digital demands.
Changes in society with SaaS growth
As it cannot be otherwise when an agent becomes as important as SaaS is being in society, this entails certain changes in people and their ways of life:
Telework boost
Many of the ways of working before the virus were face-to-face or had some part where you needed to be in person. Solutions have now been sought for most jobs, thus being able to foresee a situation like the current one on future dates.
Development of technological tools
Once we have been forced to perform certain of our tasks telematically, needs have arisen that we did not have before or that had fewer people. With the emergence of new needs, on a large scale, new ideas and businesses emerge.
Urban Exodus
Against what had been going on for countless years, now with the implementation of telework, many people decide to move to quieter, healthier areas.
In cities, it is where most businesses are concentrated and where people are usually forced to move for their job well-being. Now with the new ways of working, the areas emptied by the rural exodus of recent decades are refilled.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Once trust has been placed in the SaaS market and seen its effectiveness, many of the entrepreneurs start looking at AI to address some aspect of their business. Many of the functions that were previously done by the human can be performed more efficiently by AI. This would mean that employees could engage in other tasks within the company.
Importance of mental health
When we talk about this pandemic, we go to a virus that affects us on a physical level, but when we investigate the real problems, they have caused we can go further. Many of the citizens with so many limitations, lockdowns and restrictions have suffered this pandemic in a more mental than a physical way. That’s why many companies start to worry about and become aware of the mental health of their employees.
Conclusions
All these changes have been driven by the technological advances experienced in the pandemic. Many experts say that most of the advances we have right now were planned for ten years from now and that most of the companies that were betting heavily on SaaS before the virus has emerged from this crisis.
If you want to know more about the SaaS sector, do not hesitate to read our blog.
