The Subscription Economy
Software as a Service
Software companies earn recurring fees by hosting applications online, changing how businesses buy technology.
A huge business model.
Model
Customers use software through a browser and pay per user or per feature.
Advantages
No installation, automatic updates and easy scaling.
Indian players
Zoho, Freshworks and many start-ups sell SaaS globally.
Economics
High upfront cost to build, low cost to serve extra customers.
A per-seat plan
A company pays a fee per employee who uses a project tool.
Believing SaaS has no costs after building
Support and cloud costs are real.
Key takeaways
- SaaS is rented software.
- Updates are automatic.
- India has global SaaS firms.
- Marginal costs are low.
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