Small businesses aren't sold on SaaS

Three quarters (75 percent) of large businesses now consider SaaS tools an essential part of their business. This is according to a new report by GoCardless, based on a poll of more than 1,000 senior decision makers.

Small businesses aren’t that convinced though, with every second company sharing the same thoughts on SaaS.

The report claims that product updates and payment flexibility are considered the main advantages of SaaS, as compared to traditional software.

More than a third (37 percent) of senior decision makers say regular updates sold them on SaaS, while 31 percent say it was the convenience of accessing tools anywhere. Another quarter (27 percent) says it was the ability to spread payments into intervals that made them trump traditional software.

"Much has been written about the rise of SaaS in the consumer context, but far less research has been conducted into how it works in the business world," comments Nicola Anderson at GoCardless. "In this report, we set out to explore SaaS adoption in more depth."

"What stood out is that while SaaS is now prevalent across almost every industry, the market still has space to grow, with many businesses yet to look at how SaaS can benefit them, particularly in areas such as business intelligence and marketing," adds Anderson.

Some businesses interviewed for the report used more than 26 different SaaS tools. On the other hand, 41 percent of small businesses don’t use SaaS at all.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Future plc Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo credit: Alexander Supertramp / Shutterstock