Software as a Service is one of today's most important tech sectors. Although its potential to transform the world was obvious before the pandemics, interest in SaaS products skyrocketed as large and medium-sized enterprises adopted digital and remote sales methods. This greatly expanded their utility.
While this phenomenon is widespread, India has the unique opportunity to capitalize on its SaaS momentum. According to McKinsey and SaaSBOOMi, the Indian SaaS industry will generate revenue between $50 billion and $70 billion, and could win 4% to 6% of the global SaaS marketplace by 2030. This could create as much as $1 trillion.
According to projections, the Indian SaaS industry will generate revenues of between $50 billion and $70 billion by 2030. It is expected to capture 4% to 6% of global SaaS markets by 2030.
These are long-term trends which are driving this expansion.
Indian SaaS unicorns are on the rise
Indian SaaS has experienced a surge in innovation and success. In the past few years, Indian entrepreneurs have created more than a thousand SaaS businesses that are fully funded. This is a double the number of companies founded five years ago. These companies together generate between $2 billion and $3 billion in total revenues, and approximately 1% of global SaaS market according to McKinsey and SaaSBOOMi.
Although these firms have a variety of clients and solve different problems, many gained global attention because they allowed remote workers to work. This pivot was made easier by Zoho providing apps for sales teams for demos, collateral, videos, and demos. Freshworks provided businesses with a seamless customer experience platform. Eka expanded its cloud platform to unify workflows, from procurement to payments for CFO offices.
Other SaaS companies were busy in different ways. Ten new unicorns emerged over the course of the pandemic: Postman and Zenoti. Postman was also the subject of significant venture funding. A $150 million deal brought the total Indian SaaS community's investment to $1.5 billion in 2020, which is four times as much as the 2018 investment.
India's journey to leadership
Despite the impressive progress made by Indian SaaS communities in recent years, there are key growth drivers that could bring in as much as $1 trillion in revenue in 2030. These include:
The global pivot to digital market
Zoom Zoom Zoom is rapidly increasing in popularity among businesses that can easily assess products and make business decisions using the platform. The acceptance of digital go to market fundamentally changes the playing field for Indian businesses in terms of their access to customers, and ultimately end markets.
