Mobile SMB SaaS market will reach $19.7 billion by 2017

BOSTON, USA: A combination of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) in the enterprise and use of cloud services with a mobile interface will drive growth in the SMB SaaS(Software as a Service) market, predicts Strategy Analytics.

Increasing numbers of small and medium businesses are embracing mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets in order to improve productivity and worker mobility, according to the Strategy Analytics Mobile Workforce Strategies report.

According to Gina Luk, senior analyst of Mobile Workforce Strategies and author of the report, "The SMB market for mobile SaaS will grow from a $6.7 billion in 2012 market to reach $19.7 billion by 2017. Strategy Analytics estimates that the market for mobile SMB SaaS will grow at a CAGR of 24.1 percent over the forecast period. Businesses are looking to mobile-enable a number of business applications, such as: CRM, HR, business intelligence, email, and several industry-specific applications."

"At the same time, the number of mobile users and devices, from smartphones to tablets, is increasing across the board in enterprises. Once again, the need for flexibility, scale, and ease of deployment and use is driving adoption of SaaS to support mobile enterprise strategies. Most SaaS applications available today support mobile functionality, thus eliminating IT costs to acquire and manage mobile enterprise platforms and applications. This is a particularly attractive proposition for small and midsized businesses.

"SaaS continues to find traction and appeal in the SMB sector as cloud services lower the barrier to entry for cash-conscious organizations, allowing them to realize savings by outsourcing services and shifting funds from Capex to Opex," added Andrew Brown, Executive Director of Enterprise Research at Strategy Analytics.