How has the industry evolved? What were the top three trends? And which new players on the market have caught our attention during 2022?
Heading towards 2023, we must say that we are dealing with a very data-driven and mature industry defining how modern companies should be run. The SaaS world continues to grow despite macroeconomic uncertainty. According to the GP Bullhound European SaaS Survey, one-third of CEOs surveyed plan to raise capital in the next 12 months. The size per deal is also steadily increasing, and so-called "mega deals" account for a significant part of the SaaS industry's growth. If you look at the European countries, the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands account for 65 percent of the total SaaS deals in Europe. At the same time, the increased interest rates have contributed to a shift in our space as well, where SaaS companies have transitioned from a “growth at all costs-mindset'' into establishing a more sustainable growth strategy.
Three big SaaS trends
As a result of the economic decline, we see three clear trends within the SaaS space:
- Many big SaaS companies have been forced to lay off people to have a more sustainable cash flow.
- While having limited access to funds, companies in general are creating a focus on efficiency, controlled growth and customer retention. This is going to increase the importance of automation-related SaaS solutions further.
- Product-led growth is the key to getting more traction in 2023.
Highlights we remember
Younium participated in the largest European SaaS events, such as SaaSiest in Malmö, SaaStr in Barcelona and SaaStock in Dublin. As a result of the pandemic, we are experiencing that meeting in person today is a luxury, which has led to increased efficiency and respect for each other's time. For us, it has been essential to have a clear plan and target for the events we have been visiting. The combination of meetings, “social proof” and precise follow-ups are integral to everything we do. Talking about subscription management software we always welcome and we are happy to help SaaS business in their growth, this is why we are happy to had opportunity to meet in person.
Since we also entered the North American market in 2022, our participation at the SaaStr Annual in San Francisco was also a highlight. And last but not least, we will remember when our CEO and founder, Niclas Lilja, was elected to the Forbes Technology Council.
Newcomers in the SaaS space that have caught our attention
Younium has had a strong growth journey in 2022, and likewise, we have seen other SaaS companies grow, including Chili Piper, Deel and Xero.
Some new players in the European SaaS world that caught our attention a little extra are Belgian Gorilla, Spanish APlanet, German Zenloop and three Dutch newcomers: Playbookify, Spotler Group and Textkernel. Other companies who, in our opinion, develop really good products are Vidyard, SurveySparrow, Hubspot and Teamtailor.
It is with great excitement that we continue to follow the industry's development and look toward 2023. Until the next chapter, we want to take the opportunity to ask: how will you remember the past SaaS year?
