Update on As a Service Trends

I’ve not had a chance to post for a while and there has been a fair bit of activity in the space so I have quite a bit to share.

I have also run a few numbers through the data visualisation machine and come up with the infographic at left – feel free to use and share.

So herewith some of the best posts from recent weeks.

New SaaS Delivery Models Require New Customer Success Delivery Models. A solid piece on how Customer Success roles need to change in the maturing SaaS space. Sticking with the SaaS space, this article does a really good job of explaining how to manage your vendor if you use a SaaS product: How to manage SaaS Vendors in the Subscription Economy. And for some other really good posts on these themes:

• 5 Blisteringly Successful Customer Success Strategies
• New research report by Gainsight: The State of the Customer Success Profession 2019 (sign up required)
• A practical guide to understanding and reducing SaaS churn – an investors perspective

New entrants to the space

These include:

• Hertz who launches a monthly car rental subscription.
• Then there is Sanofi who turns to subscriptions to offer patients insulin at $99 per month.
• And Volkswagen rolls out subscription model in the UK.
• Last but not least, Urban Outfitters Inc are to start renting out clothing.

This collection of announcements above 👆 shows the sheer breadth of industries effected by the As a Service trend – nothing is off limits.

Industry specific news

There were a batch of articles and new research:

• New research highlights how increasing interest in the subscription economy will revolutionise the automotive dealer service experience.
• From McKinsey: How sharing the road is likely to transform American mobility.
• Great opinion piece by Kara Swisher in the New York Times: Owning a Car Will Soon Be as Quaint as Owning a Horse.
• The Rise Of The Industrial Subscription Economy
• Forget Games as a Service, We’re Headed Towards Consoles as a Service
• Apple is now the privacy-as-a-service company
• Fashion as a Service

Trend indicators

Here is a good summary of the trend which includes commentary on all the different industries being effected by the subscription economy: Subscription Services Draw Companies Closer To Customers. As with so many of the posts that I reference to the subscription economy, this one points to its darling Zuora, as you can see from the source of the chart. But their standing at the top of the subscription economy heap (as a company that powers the economy) may be under threat as new entrants join the fray: Stripe billing launches in Europe to power subscription companies across the continent.

There are other signs of a growing consolidation and integration in the Subscription Economy and Customer Success industries with the announcement by Medallia of their Strikedeck acquisition. Also Customer Success leader Gainsight’s announcement of the broadening of their portfolio into a “Customer Cloud”.