The benefits of using Software as a Service programmes have long been eulogised by vendors looking to sell their products, but how the technology works in the business world is a little murky.
Figures from analysts such as IDC and Gartner continuously point to growing spend of SaaS but what’s actually luring businesses to jump onto the bandwagon?
Well, according to research by GoCardless with YouGov, the main appeal is regular updates, with payment flexibility also one of the main advantages.
The research found that 37% of senior decision makers cited regular product updates as the reason why SaaS is better than traditional software. It was also found that 31% love the convenience of accessing the tools anywhere, while 27% said the ability to spread payments out into intervals was the big appeal.
So who exactly is using SaaS? According to the report it is large enterprises leading the way with 75% considering SaaS tools as an essential part of how they do business, compared to only 50% of small businesses.
Although there are well documented benefits of SaaS, it was found that 41% of small businesses don’t use any at all. The report questions whether this is due to a lack of awareness as to what’s available.
Read more: Public cloud spending: It’s time to ignore the forecasts and focus on the business value
Although small businesses are shying away from SaaS tools, the report found that some businesses are using more than 26 different tools.
The most popular areas for SaaS adoption are finance and accounting tools, with sales coming in third.
The report said: “Areas where the benefits take longer to become apparent, such as marketing and business intelligence, require larger investments of resources before businesses can reap the rewards.”
The research was conducted with YouGov, with 1025 senior decision makers from businesses with up to 250 employees interviewed. The research explored how many businesses were using SaaS tools like Salesforce, Mailchimp and Xero on a daily basis.
