It is expected that the growth potential of the Indian SaaS industry that will be driven by the rapid adoption of AI, increasing focus on cybersecurity, and increasing cloud adoption in the BFSI and Manufacturing industries is also expected to pump up hiring mandates of different SaaS companies. The SaaS market is seeing immense potential and as per a report by Bessemer Venture Partners, a global venture capital and private equity firm in its “The Rise of SaaS in India 2024” report says that that India’s SaaS market is projected to reach $50 billion by 2030, with a possibility of an upward revision given the rapid advancements in AI and its integration into SaaS solutions. The survey findings also reveal that 60 per cent of startups, previously pure SaaS companies, are now evolving into AI-enabled SaaS providers.
2024 till now has seen a surge in hiring mandates for SaaS companies with figures touching 40 per cent plus additional hires. This however appears more a funnel building exercise than actual hiring need in terms of offers rolled out.
“SaaS companies are under huge pressure for performance and hence the significant part of the hiring mandates are leaning towards lead generation, pre sales and sales force. With advancements in low code or no code technology and efficacy of Gen AI, the need for hiring has plateaued in tech space and the business has taken the prime position. The trend does not appear to hold long and may wither as the market outlook for the year becomes more clear,” remarked Subramanyam Sreenivasaiah, the CEO at Ascent HR.
Experts point out that the SaaS ecosystem has been consistently growing, with rapid adoption across both B2C and B2B sectors. Our corporate lifestyles, regardless of company size, have evolved, as have those of individual consumers. “SaaS products now support a wide range of functions including sales, marketing, recruitment, onboarding, employee lifecycle management, payroll, compliance, learning and development, production planning and control, supply chain management, and plant maintenance. While large organizations and forward-thinking mid to small-sized companies have pioneered this usage, broader adoption across all organizations is expected over time. The ecosystem continues to expand, and we anticipate significant developments in the future,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra the MD and CEO of CIEL HR.
This expert adds that over the next decade the digital landscape for both B2B and B2C companies is set for a major transformation. “With a digital-first lifestyle becoming more prevalent, young people worldwide are increasingly comfortable interacting with machines rather than humans. This trend, though it may have cultural implications, presents substantial growth prospects for SaaS companies,” added Mishra.
As per the report by Bessemer Venture Partners the lines between traditional SaaS and AI-enabled software are blurring rapidly. The report says that more than half of companies identify as AI-enabled SaaS and 34 per cent as native SaaS. This transition is driven by the need for more advanced, intelligent solutions that enhance business operations and customer experiences. The adoption of AI features by 92 per cent of early-stage software startups in India underscores this trend. The integration of AI technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and advanced analytics into SaaS platforms is creating a wave of innovation, making software more intuitive, adaptive, and capable of automating complex tasks.
The report further observes that the industrial sector in India is rapidly adopting AI and cloud technologies, driven by growth in manufacturing and global ESG regulations. Over 60,000 businesses are regulated to publish ESG reports from 2024, which is expected to grow by 50 percent over the next three to four years. The transition to cloud-based industrial SaaS solutions facilitates real-time data analytics, predictive maintenance, and enhanced supply chain management, crucial for achieving higher productivity and sustainability in industrial operations. All these trends are expected to create huge opportunity for tech workforce.