As Expected, SMB Market for Mobile SaaS Is Exploding

In most business cycles, one explosion will lead to another, for better or worse. That said, it was quite expected that the “bring your own device” (BYOD) revolution has sparked the embers that lit up a chain reaction, involving the increasing adoption of software as a service (SaaS) among small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The link between BYOD and SaaS can be explained by the increase in demand for cloud services that include a mobile interface. As more small and medium businesses start using smartphones and tablets for their daily activities we can only expect this demand to increase.

According to Strategy Analytics – a predictive analytics, intelligent analysis and strategic market research company – the market for mobile SaaS for SMBs will grow from the previous year's $6.7 billion to $19.7 billion by 2017. The information comes from one of their reports, called “SMB Mobile Software-as-a-Service Forecast 2011-2017.”

Gina Luk, the author of the report and senior analyst at Mobile Workforce Strategies, said, “Strategy Analytics estimates that the market for mobile SMB SaaS will grow at a CAGR of 24.1 percent over the forecast period. Businesses are looking to mobile-enable a number of business applications, such as: CRM, HR, business intelligence, email, and several industry-specific applications.”

The increase in demand is further fueled by the increasing purchase of mobile devices by company employees. Mobile proliferation will just snowball the customer pool even further for providers of enterprise SaaS services. Already, we're seeing many different businesses ask for mobile apps for the services they already use.

Andrew Brown, executive director of enterprise research at Strategy Analytics, said, “SaaS continues to find traction and appeal in the SMB sector as cloud services lower the barrier to entry for cash-conscious organizations, allowing them to realize savings by outsourcing services and shifting funds from Capex to Opex.”