7 SaaS Trends (and Opportunities) for MSPs in 2020

The SaaS industry has experienced massive growth over the last several years.

But you don’t need to tell MSPs that. As more businesses turn to SaaS services, MSPs are an indispensable part of ensuring that companies worldwide get the most from their cloud-based platforms.

Still, nothing stays the same for too long, and the SaaS space is no different. Since customers rely on you for strategic direction surrounding new technologies, you’ll likely need to initiate conversations about emerging technologies rather than waiting for customers to ask you.

Below are 7 of the key SaaS trends you can use to start conversations with your clients over the next several months.

1. Platform Unbundling

Most traditional SaaS products are horizontal–they offer every single feature or function imaginable in one unique tool. But, as user needs become more complex, and the industry continues to evolve, platform unbundling is likely to become all the more prevalent.

Plus, with APIs, unbundled ecosystems can connect seamlessly. The positive is that companies can move at the speed of business, no longer thinking of the customer in terms of isolated sales interactions but instead focusing on their end-to-end experience across all channels.

The challenge facing MSPs and IT teams involves the sheer number of SaaS applications across any organization. Consider this: Corporate IT security professionals estimate they have 30 to 40 apps in the cloud when the reality is a staggering 928 apps.

? You can read more about the security challenges posed by Shadow IT here.

2. The Year of SaaS Cost Reduction

We wrote an entire eBook on SaaS Cost Reduction. With COVID-19, budgets are facing new levels of scrutiny.  The spread of unidentified SaaS spend across organizations makes it an area ripe for savings.

MSPs that can help their clients stay lean in these times will come out of this crisis much stronger.

3. Remote Work and Security Risks

In a world of increasingly sophisticated hackers and adversaries, keeping sensitive information safe is a growing challenge for both employers and employees. The recent rise in remote working due to COVID-19 provides even more for IT and security experts to worry about.

It’s challenging to monitor all SaaS solutions around the clock, especially when working with limited IT staff resources. Thankfully, the MSP business model works by often having 24/7 monitoring available.

? Here are 3 Ways to Help Your Client’s Secure Remote Employees.

4. The Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT is emerging as a hot vertical (Gartner expects tens of billions of devices to come online this year), with more connected devices becoming a mainstream part of homes and businesses. Each node on the network creates new vulnerabilities. Therein lies a unique opportunity for MSPs to help clients better secure their technology ecosystem.

5. AI and Machine Learning (ML)

The coming trend for 2020, and indeed the whole of the decade, is going to be the interaction between machines and humans, and it is here that MSPs stand to increase their usefulness. They provide services and products that allow humans and AI to work together as a team for maximum efficiency. The communication between the two should be the corner of any MSPs AI strategy.

6. Importance of Automation

AI is a driving force behind automation in SaaS. For example, a chatbot rather than a person can answer common questions using machine learning.

The main benefit of automation is that it enables businesses to respond to customer needs with less reliance on human resources. As budgets face scrutiny, organizations will need to do more with less.

That’s where your MSP comes in. Automation has always been mission-critical to MSPs who need to streamline the set-up, monitoring, and management of their customers’ cloud networks.

Now it’s time to apply the same approach to your client’s business processes.

7. Mobile-First Approach

As we’ve already seen, a lot of trends we expect in the SaaS world in 2020 relate to other patterns and developments in connected industries. It was three years ago when worldwide mobile traffic surpassed desktop traffic, and since then, the gap between the two is only getting bigger.

This trend is due to mobile devices getting more advanced and powerful, as well as the growing need for constant mobility and accessibility in business today.

The growth of mobile usage means that as more people use the mobile-version of SaaS apps, the mobile security landscape grows in importance. This offers several niches for the enterprising MSP. Namely, MSPs can help clients establish the appropriate layers of mobile security without stifling employee productivity.

The Wrap on 2020 SaaS Trends

There are several other trends expected to dominate 2020 when it comes to SaaS, such as the migration to PaaS and more. In any event, all the trends offer challenges–and most importantly–opportunities for your MSP.

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