Nowadays the use of technology alone has opened many opportunities, it is not only being applied to various industries such as Healthtech, Fintech, Agrotech or Biotech, as discussed in previous posts, but also for the creation of platforms and software that can solve everyday life problems for people and companies.
SaaS or Software as a Service has become an important pillar in the ideation of new solutions for people and companies tha before had to seek products that would meet those needs.
The data speaks for itself, the growth of SaaS companies in 2020 alone was 30% compared to prior years, it is a great opportunity today.
This happens due to the mainstreaming of these new solutions within everyone’s reach, it can be applied to B2B but also to B2C, a clear example is Zoom, the videoconferencing platform that is part of the SaaS industry that has been enhanced in the pandemic for education, for work, and also keep in touch when far away.
Let’s dive into the SaaS industry and how it has evolved in terms of investment.
What is SaaS?
As per its acronym SaaS, Software as a Service is a model that creates a software that covers a need and that is hosted in the cloud, the user can use the platform online and through a subscription in most of the cases.
Even though the industry itself is the technological development, it is divided into various sub industries, most of them for handling and managing information and work teams, logistics and operations, cybersecurity, marketing, customer service, finance and accounting, as well as human resources.
B2B SaaS meaning
B2B SaaS stands for Business-to-Business Software-as-a-Service. It is basically defined in cloud software used by companies for tasks such as:
- Accounting
- Productivity
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Task management, etc.
If B2B SaaS brings a lot of value, companies usually and pay on a recurring basis on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis.
SaaS Business Advantages
There are many advantages that SaaS provides not only in terms of the service provision but in the way that it is procured and the subscription business model that these types of companies usually have.
These are some of the additional advantages:
- A specialized IT support system is not required given that most of the services are hosted in the cloud.
- The product focuses on the IT area, therefore constant innovation is enhanced and benefitted.
- For the company, many times the sale is not centered in sales meetings, it is the platform itself through the free trial and use tutorial, improving the purchase decision timeline by the customer.
- Recurring revenue is often the dream for those who get involved with online businesses, and a SaaS business model has this idea of recurring income at its very core.
Recommended Lecture: Latam SaaS Startups and Companies
Venture Capital Investment in SaaS for Latam
As far as the investment in this industry, Latin America is one with the most exponential recurring growth throughout the years. Until 2020 there were more than 1200 deals and investments of almost 2 billion USD.
This is due to the boom of SaaS companies world wide and mostly in Latin America which is where the companies that Newtopia has invested are located.
Many studies show that between 2020 and 2026 the SaaS market of Latin America will have an annual growth of 8%, a great opportunity that is the reason why this blog was written.
Growth of SaaS in Latam
The software is now accessible, convenient to configure and a major engagement driver. That is why it is desirable for many companies that want to grow in terms of productivity, customers, accountability, etc.
Why is SaaS growing so much in Latam?
SaaS has become a key instrument for the success of their companies. Because:
- They help in the cost-effective architecture of corporate processes.
- They provide modern technologies.
Due to their ability to give local companies an advantage, the solutions provided by SaaS in Latam are relevant for emerging businesses and markets. In adittion, there are 3 key factors that are helping SaaS expansion in Latam, read below.
1.Accessibility
Software can be accessed «in the cloud» from anywhere with an Internet connection and a computer with a web browser. There are no location or device restrictions.
Accessibility is a great advantage not only for the users of the software. It is an advantage for the entire market, as it makes product development and delivery more sustainable.
2.Convenience of installation
Software installation time has been reduced from several weeks to a few minutes. This brings great strategic value.
Before, it was the IT department’s job to install certain software on a system and perform manual configuration. Now it’s a matter of a minute: every user can open his browser, log on and use the services without any problems.
It translates to a lot of cost savings for stores that used to offer software installations to their customers, or companies that needed to hire employees just to do that tedious task.
Recommended Lecture: SaaS Mexican Market
3.Increased engagement
SaaS solutions are designed to offer many features while improving your customers’ experience. Users are easily motivated not only to stay on that software, but also to enable integrations with different software.
In a work environment, that means a higher level of employee engagement, and this proved to be very helpful for remote work during Covid-19. That’s one of the reasons why the SaaS HRM segmentation has the largest market share.
Recommended Lecture: SaaS market in Argentina
SaaS Startups in Latin America
ILLOW: BRA
Illow is a SaaS to comply with privacy regulations in Latin-American. This year, Brazil launched its own privacy regulation creating the need for 8M companies to comply to avoid fines. They don’t know how to do this and Wibson can solve this with one line of code. This means that a 4B dollar market has just unlocked and they are ready to take it.
Founders:
Rodrigo Irarrazabal
Daniel Fernández
AUMENT
Aument don’t believe in one-size-fits-all automations. They believe in burdening store owners with pain-staking marketing management.
Aument takes on data analysis and audience segmentation, and tailors strategies backstage, so that busy ecommerce leaders can simply sit back and watch sales rise, engagement improve, and their revenue skyrocket
Founders
- Alan Helouani
- Sacha Landesmann
- Emilio Di Marco.
- Mario León
AIMO
Aimo is a commerce platform to help local businesses secure more sales and operate omnichannel easier than ever.
Aimo created a simple tool that enables businesses to sell online, manage inventory, and automate fulfillment in less than 15 minutes.
Founder:
- Ivonne Quiñones.
