How Microsoft is helping build SaaS superpowers

SaaS is one of the most exciting spaces in the tech industry now. At one end of the spectrum, there are developed economies where the technology adoption is strong. An average American enterprise uses approximately 1,000 SaaS applications for its day-to-day operations; and then we have emerging markets such as India on the other end of the spectrum, where businesses are leapfrogging towards SaaS adoption.

Catering to a customer base of approximately 2 billion, Indian SaaS enterprises can unlock a $1 trillion opportunity by 2030, accelerating the economy, opening up more employment avenues, bringing in foreign exchange revenue, and more. As per Bain and Company’s India SaaS Report 2021, more than 35 Indian SaaS companies registered over $20 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2021, which is a seven-fold increase over five years.

Small steps for exponential growth

Using a customer-led approach, leading SaaS companies continuously develop new project extensions or new offerings that can be sold to the existing customer base to expand their shares of the global total addressable market (TAM).

Startups hoping to register big wins need to keep in mind the importance of constant product innovation. The importance of identifying a need and then quickly launching a product in the market is imperative in today’s ever evolving customer landscape.

Expansion to newer geographies and building a product portfolio that suits those markets are also important factors to be considered.

Additionally, building a great partner ecosystem that can support both go-to-market (GTM) as well as product partnerships, can help with scaling opportunities and accelerated growth. Trends such as building a hyper connected business are already gaining traction.

With a focus on innovation and a strong partner ecosystem, Microsoft has a dedicated team of engineers working towards creating and scaling new and existing solutions for empowering startups.

Scaling up, together

Microsoft brings together its wide partner network and technology expertise to support startups grow their businesses both in terms of tech offerings and global reach.

Microsoft offers its partners the option of co-sell wherein startups can leverage Microsoft’s expertise of being a global brand in addition to elements such as building demand, sales planning, sharing sales leads, accelerated partner-to-partner empowered selling, and the global commercial marketplace. Co-selling with Microsoft and its partners helps businesses reach a vast community of Microsoft-managed customers to collaborate on sales opportunities that accelerate their business growth via higher sales and revenue.

Microsoft’s Azure Marketplace attracts 4 million unique visitors every month. An online store for developers and IT pros looking for technical building blocks, Azure Marketplace enables businesses to discover, try, and deploy the cloud software they want. Microsoft has seen a 70 percent year-over-year increase in transactable applications on its commercial marketplace. This massive reach across customers in 192+ countries, backed by a 400,000+ partner network to sell SaaS solutions directly and via the commercial marketplace, provides a truly global selling field for B2B SaaS startups.

Microsoft’s endeavour with its partner ecosystem is to build capacity on key technologies that drive the digital transformation for customers. Marching forward with the belief that India has the potential of becoming a SaaS superpower, Microsoft is collaborating with startups by providing cutting edge tech tools, extending global reach for their offerings and skilling for their next milestones.

To know more about how Microsoft can help in your Startup Journey please visit Microsoft for Startups program