It’s been a while since my last update and there’s been lots going on so sit down, grab a ☕ and enjoy reading about a host of new announcements and articles capturing the trend.
Apple has just come out with some expected announcements that indicate it’s moving to an As a Service company which this post neatly captures: The Powerful SaaS Platform No One Is Talking About — and It’s Made by Apple. And in a separate post that is pretty much in line with the views from this first article: Hardware-As-A-Service: Are We There Yet?
This post similarly shows how another large technology company is leading the charge on this trend: Has Amazon Prime Been Fueling The Growth Of The Subscription Economy.
A great treatise here on the evolution of and critical foundations for successful SaaS businesses: What is Product Led Growth? How to Build a Software Company in the End User Era. From the article, these companies in the image below have recognised that we are in the End User Era, and they’re all-in on product led growth:
Here is a good post capturing various different sources and documenting the trend well: Riding on the wave of the “Subscription Economy”.
Another excellent summary on the state of the subscription economy is this one from Userlane, on the bell-weather company of the subscription economy Zuora and their annual event: Gaining Traction in a Subscription-Based Economy: Zuora Event Recap
One of the key factors I will be exploring in my new trend report is how technology ecosystems (including being/running a platform) play a vital part in the success of an As a Service company. That’s captured neatly in this move: Starbucks wants to create the AWS for restaurants.
In a continuation of the theme, you could easily see traditional SaaS businesses that touch parts of their customers core processes with their platform, especially financial or payments, extending their offering. Captured nicely here: Forget About SaaS: Software-as-a-Lender Could Be The Next Big Thing.
Something else that’s a key factor and I am exploring in my new trend report is being data driven and how good views on that data (analytics) is fundamental. A company nailing that aspect here: The Value of Usage Analytics in the Subscription Economy.
Here is someone else that sees the As a Service trend growing and touching all businesses and companies: The ‘As-A-Service’ Economy Is Moving Downstream. Are You Ready?.
And in a good review from the book Subscribed: Why the Subscription Model Will Be Your Company’s Future – and What to Do About It, by Tien Tzuo and Gabe Weisert, these two summary charts:
Other announcement from new entrants
- Schwab’s Subscription Advisory Service Attracts $1 Billion in Less Than 4 Months
- Nike’s first shoe subscription, two years in the making, is here
- Amazon just announced a new way to make money from its home Wi-Fi business: Subscriptions
- The We Company to acquire on-demand workspace provider Spacious – clear move to get into the space-as-a-service business.
- And a bit of an anti-trend but logical considering the proliferation of subscription offerings: App that cancels subscriptions launches in UK
- Here is a good recap of a company that has just embarked on the journey: Antonio Neri and Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s cultural revolution.
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