According to industry projections, the India SaaS market will grow from $4–7 billion in 2020 to $20–25 billion by 2025.
SaaS is the only tech trend for India that is as sassy as it is. The confidence of Indian SaaS players is rising as they discuss the sector’s prospects in a post-pandemic world by relying on the digitisation trend.
According to a recent report by Bessemer Venture Partners, the value of software-as-a-service in India is expected to reach $50 billion by the year 2030. The market has now reached a crucial inflation point, according to the report, as the amount of venture capital invested in the area reached $4.8 billion in 2021.
In order to understand what motivates SaaS as a business, what stimulates VC interest despite sluggish demand, and how the sector may change in the years to come, Livemint spoke with Indian SaaS players.
According to Praval Singh, vice president of marketing and customer experience at Zoho Corporation, “Increase in digital adoption, need for agility in time to market strategies, and also transnational market opportunities are the key factors that’s driving the SaaS business in India.”
Regardless of the current size of the business, there has been a strong demand for SaaS, and Praval explains how it functions. For larger companies, it’s the simplicity of SaaS and the value they place on unified systems, while for smaller businesses, the technology may make it easier for them to get started without having to make a significant capital investment, the author claims.
Given that SaaS adoption in India is still in its infancy, the sector’s long-term growth potential has grown significantly. According to industry projections, the India SaaS market will grow from $4–7 billion in 2020 to $20–25 billion by 2025.
“SaaS revenues are increasing in India at a rate of 20%+ on average. When asked about the industry’s outlook, Praval stated, “At Zoho, we grew at about 77% in India last year. While the growth has currently slowed down a bit, we’re still quite optimistic about India being a growth driver for our business over the next few years.
When examining the sector’s growth potential, the interest of VC firms in Indian SaaS is another intriguing factor, particularly when there is a slight decline in demand largely because of macroeconomic pressures. According to a report, VC funding for SaaS startups in India was $4.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to surpass $6.5 billion this year.
The factors Praval cites for the rising demand for SaaS companies include access to top talent, an alluring business model that offers the chance for consistent revenue growth over rapid digitisation, the resourcefulness of Indian SaaS firms due to multiple founders and peer networks that enable effective knowledge sharing, and the nurturing of a sizable talent pool over the years by older SaaS companies, many of whose employees have become founders and launched new startups.
In the future, India will become the world’s SaaS capital, thanks in large part to the services provided by SaaS companies based there. When it comes to creating an efficient culture and product strategy, there are significant differences from their international counterparts.
“Over the years, the software offerings of Indian SaaS companies have grown and, in some cases, have been localized for regional needs around the world. For instance, we have 14 editions of Zoho Books available worldwide,” says Praval.
“Indian SaaS companies stand out because they are reputed to launch their products with a nearly finished version rather than a minimum viable product, burning through less cash than their competitors. According to Kovai co-founder and CEO Saravana Kumar, many businesses create multiple products, each of which generates $5 to $10 million in annual revenue.
Saravana Kumar responds that there is significant potential in healthcare technology, supply chain management, delivery services, and B2B due to the growing internet penetration paving the way for the main easing of payment systems.
In the age of current digital technology, financial services have also undergone a significant transformation. The majority of us are also quickly changing the way we conduct our main financial transactions thanks to technologies like AI-driven automation and SaaS solutions. In fact, fewer people now need to physically visit banks as the main result of the development of fintech.
Customers are nowadays generally dissatisfied with their interactions with banks and also other financial service providers, despite all the main technological advancements. Even the current biggest and most reputable organizations still struggle with all poor customer service, which is why Conversation Intelligence has also emerged as the current growth trajectory for SAAS business models.
According to big data, the global market for conversation intelligence software is also anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% to $43.2 billion in 2032. The demand for AI-powered customer support services is the main driver of this expansion.
SaaS: Let’s examine Conversation Intelligence’s impact on the fintech customer experience in more detail.
Automation of the QA process Manual QA procedures is tedious, repetitive, and overwhelming in large contact centres that handle thousands of calls per day. Quality Analysts randomly audit less than 5% of all conversations, leaving the rest unanalyzed and unusable for decision-making.
Conversation Intelligence enables businesses to listen to 100% of conversations and understand the customer’s voice as a whole by automating QA procedures. Because the AI does not become distracted and remains focused on evaluating each conversation based on the pre-defined parameters even when processing thousands of calls per day, it not only outperforms manual processes but is also more accurate.
Legal and compliance risk reduction – Conversation Intelligence is critical in the development and maintenance of data security frameworks for each client. It enables businesses to personally coach agents on compliance procedures. Access control measures are also integrated to ensure the secure transmission of sensitive customer or business information.
Automation of business processes Businesses can use all of this data to streamline their operations and create targeted marketing campaigns, sales journeys, and customer experiences. Across 100% of your conversations, the intelligent AI-driven Conversation Intelligence platform provides a systematic database of parameters such as customer complaints, sentiment, competitor/brand mentions, FAQs, and so on.
Trends in user behavior can be identified by incorporating Conversation Intelligence, which allows businesses to collect high-quality data from a variety of conversation metrics in real-time. These user-interest-related insights aid in identifying behavior patterns that can be used to quickly and efficiently customize current offerings as well as develop new products and services.
Agents that are more effective Contact center employees have historically been viewed as uninformed and uninterested in their clients’ needs in the financial industry. Conversation Intelligence solutions are changing this perception through 100% call evaluation.
A detailed call evaluation reveals all of the important metrics and parameters. This not only saves time but also provides agents with extensive data and analytics to be coached on. The platform integrates with the content management system, allowing users to quickly access the specific information they require about a product or service in which they are interested.
This not only reduces the need for agents to receive extensive product training, but it also reduces the amount of time an agent must wait while conducting a manual search in the CMS. These AI-powered assistants help to improve First Call Resolution and reduce the Average Handle Time for call interactions. Customers have a better experience, and agents can achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction.
Increased sales conversion rates Because they are aware of a customer’s needs and expectations, the Conversation Intelligence system can quickly identify upselling or cross-selling opportunities. They can also send product recommendations to the agent’s screen using cues. This has significantly increased the ability of the fintech sector to generate revenue.
Automating back-end tasks for sales teams – The Conversation Intelligence system can take notes on live calls, identify key moments, and generate a concise summary of each call. They can separate the calls based on predefined criteria, greatly reducing the agents’ post-call work. As a result of their reduced workload, their job satisfaction and motivation increase, and they gain the confidence to handle each customer interaction more effectively.
These are some of the most significant changes Conversation Intelligence is bringing to the fintech services industry. The best SaaS solutions are scalable cloud solutions that can be used on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment. Because of their complete adaptability, they are ideal for both neo-banks and fintech startups, as well as legacy businesses undergoing digital transformation. This will be the only way to expand and future-proof the BFSI industry in the coming years!
Edited by Prakriti Arora
