Top 10 Software as a Service (SaaS) Companies in 2022

Software as a service (SaaS) is defined as a cloud-based application delivery and consumption model where users pay for software on a subscription basis, depending on the monthly or annual usage, number of licenses, and features in use. Between 2021 and 2025, the global SaaS market is expected to grow by $99.99 billion. This article discusses the various companies leading this growth wave. 

Table of Contents 

• Key Features of Software as a Service (SaaS) Companies
• 10 Companies with a Large Presence and Strong SaaS Delivery Capacities in 2022

Key Features of Software as a Service (SaaS) Companies 

Software as a service (SaaS) is a cloud-based application delivery and consumption model where users pay for software on a subscription basis, depending on monthly or annual usage, the number of licenses, and the features in use. 

Increasingly, most software providers are moving to a SaaS business model as it offers predictable recurring revenues. Customers also gain from the flexibility of on-demand scaling and pay-as-you-go efficiency. Industry adoption of SaaS is expected to grow by 67% in the next five years as per a 2020 survey titled Understanding Your Terminal Strategy with Cloud-based Technologies by Navis, underscoring the importance of this trend. 

Here are five features that characterize SaaS companies in 2022.

Essential Features SaaS Companies Should Offer

1. Application hosting on the cloud: A key criterion of SaaS companies is leveraging cloud technology to deliver their software solutions. This makes it easier to monitor consumption, scale up when necessary, and end subscriptions if needed. 

2. An easily extensible marketplace of integrations: SaaS companies make their products easily extensible either via native integrations or through open application programming interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs). Ideally, they should have an online catalog or marketplace where customers can download the integrations they want. 

3. Flexibility and scalability: Scalability is an essential factor when it comes to SaaS software applications. You should be able to deploy it for small teams with 5-100 licenses as well as for enterprises with several thousand users. 

4. A straightforward pricing catalog with a predetermined feature set: Typically, SaaS companies follow a straightforward and predictable pricing model, where a specific set of features has an assigned price point, which will change with the number of users you onboard. 

5. Hassle-free implementation and no maintenance efforts: This is one of the key reasons companies choose SaaS applications. They can be implemented without any setup or integration hassles, with the SaaS vendor providing you with training support or even managed implementation. SaaS companies also simplify maintenance by delivering over-the-air (OTA) updates via the cloud. 

Also Read: What Is Software as a Service (SaaS)? Definition, Examples, Types, and Trends

Top 10 Software as a Service (SaaS) Companies in 2022

Now that we know all about the SaaS business model and why it is a game-changer for digital technology, let’s look at the companies that have been trailblazers in the last few years. According to ReportLinker, the global SaaS market will expand by a staggering $99.99 billion between 2021 and 2025, and these companies will be at the forefront of this growth. Please note that we have considered companies with the largest and most entrenched SaaS adoption base for the purpose of this list – regardless of their ancillary on-premise, service-based, or other offerings. 

Disclaimer: This list is based on publicly available information and may include vendor websites that sell to mid-to-large enterprises. Readers are advised to conduct their own final research to ensure the best fit for their unique organizational needs.

1. Adobe 

Overview: Adobe was initially known for its perpetual license software products, but the company has been transitioning to a SaaS-first business model since 2012. That year, it converted Creative Suite into a cloud-based subscription service called the Adobe Creative Cloud, comprising all the software tools a designer might need. Since then, Adobe has launched several market-leading SaaS products, including the extremely popular Adobe Experience platform. Adobe’s revenue from SaaS is $11.6 billion, out of the company’s total annual revenue of $13 billion as per NASDAQ. 

Meant for: Independent creative consultants, small, mid-sized, and large marketing teams, and organizations with a large-scale B2C business. 

Key features: Some key features of Adobe include: 

• An extensive Adobe SaaS app marketplace 
• A keen focus on creative design, customer experience management, and data analytics 
• A strong mobile presence across all operating systems 
• Adobe Sensei, the company’s AI engine for recommending and executing creative edits 
• Tailored business solutions for specific industries

USP: Adobe is an undeniable market leader in the design and marketing/CX management space both for B2B and B2C. in the last few years, Adobe has made impressive forays into cutting-edge areas like 3D design and product development for AR. 

Pricing: The pricing varies based on the scale of deployment and the software tool you choose. 

Editorial comments: Adobe was a market leader even before the SaaS revolution and continues to hold its own despite the rise of numerous challenges. Today, it is the go-to solution for all things design, and it has a highly loyal customer base for its marketing and CX capabilities. 

Also Read: What Is Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)? Definition, Components, Providers, and Trends

2. Atlassian 

Overview: Atlassian is a leading provider of collaboration tools for remote and distributed teams. Its products address project management requirements, security use cases, team collaboration, IT services, and core product development. The company integrates with a wide variety of third-party products, which you can access from the Atlassian marketplace. Its total revenue from SaaS in Q3 2020 was $411.6 million. 

Meant for: Technology companies of any size, be it a 10-person team or 1500+ employees—any company looking for a scalable project planning and management tool. 

Key features: Few key features of Atlassian include: 

• A pure-play SaaS company without any on-premise bells and whistles
• Solutions based on team size and team function 
• Addresses the entire spectrum of use cases around technology design and technology management 
• Volume-based discounts over 250 users 
• Strong capability in agile planning and agile product development 

USP: Atlassian offers point solutions to your most pressing business problems, from helping non-tech teams like marketing or HR to communicate to facilitating CI/CD and release management. In other words, it is a one-stop productivity and business enablement solution for technology companies.

Pricing: Atlassian has several products including Jira, Confluence, Trello, Bitbucket, etc., each priced differently. 

Editorial comments: Jira by Atlassian has become almost the de facto project management and collaboration tool for tech teams, and it also helps that the company prices each feature, capability, and standalone product separately. You pay for exactly what you use and the number of users actively onboarded. 

3. Freshworks 

Overview: Founded as FreshDesk in 2010, Freshworks is an end-to-end business solutions provider for small to mid-sized organizations. It gives you all the tools needed for customer and employee engagement, from HR enablers and IT service management tools to CRM, enterprise telephony, and customer service chatbots. It also has homegrown AI capabilities and a marketplace where you can choose from scores of integrations. 

Meant for: Small to mid-sized organizations (especially B2C); also has interesting enterprise options with per-user pricing. 

Key features: Some key features of Freshworks include: 

• A thoughtful range of products in CX, sales & marketing, IT service management, and HR 
• A unified platform called Freshworks Neo for end-to-end CX management 
• Partners with AWS, Slack, Microsoft, and others to create a holistic business ecosystem 
• Freddy AI to offer helpful insights, recommendations, and predictive actions in internal and customer-facing operations 
• Separate pricing for each independent SaaS product 

USP: Freshworks has a refreshingly straightforward business model, segmenting its value proposition into nine key products: Freshdesk, Freshservice, Freshcaller, Freshchat, Freshteam, Freshping, Freshstatus, Freshsuccess, and Freshworks CRM. You can pick and choose the capabilities that you need or opt for a unified customer-facing solution through Neo. 

Pricing: Freshworks’ range of products can be implemented independently with differentiated pricing for small, mid-sized, and enterprise teams. 

Editorial comments: Freshworks has seen rapid growth, both from subscription sales and funding – in 2019, Freshworks secured $150 million in Series H, signaling continuous investment in new products and market expansion. Small companies looking to abandon paper processes or mid-sized organizations looking for an automated alternative can consider Freshworks. 

Also Read: Top 10 Cloud Computing Service Provider Companies in 2021 

4. Google 

Overview: While Google isn’t a SaaS-only provider (it has infrastructure offerings like the Google Cloud or Kubernetes engine, as well as free web apps like Google search), its SaaS products have gained incredible traction in the last few years. The company recently rebranded its older G-suite offering as Google Workspace, giving it a distinct SaaS flavor instead of a collection of disparate, unconnected tools. Google is mainly known for its SaaS-based productivity tools, along with its marketing and ad management platform. 

Meant for: Small to mid-sized businesses; developers looking to build their products on the cloud. 

Key features: Few key features of Google include: 

• An integrated suite of products for SMBs and enterprise 
• Specialized solutions for education and non-profit 
• Strong mobile presence with purpose-built productivity apps for smartphones 
• Sophisticated enterprise tools like Data Studio, campaign managers, and the Google Marketing Platform 
• A wide range of developer tools for cloud app development 

USP: Google’s SaaS products have a loyal following owing to its exemplary design aesthetic, excellent usability for business users, and intuitive accessibility on all devices. While SaaS may not be Google’s primary revenue earner, its core product (i.e., search and data analytics) informs its SaaS offerings. It helps marketers gain from a wealth of online activity.

Pricing: Google’s SaaS offerings range from extremely affordable to premium, with several free offerings for B2C customers. 

Editorial comments: While Google has started to formalize its web-based software offerings under the SaaS umbrella only recently, it has a significant competitive edge. Google is known for its cloud and web-based products, without any notable perpetual license offerings. Reliance on the Google ecosystem due to its free products is also high, and one can expect greater consolidation in the next few quarters.

5. Microsoft 

Overview: Known as the company behind the Windows operating system and the Office suite of software, Microsoft has rapidly made inroads in SaaS over the last few years. Its initially perpetual license-based productivity apps are now available under the Microsoft 365 suite. This not only includes familiar desktop tools like Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint but also has web-native SaaS products like SharePoint and Teams.

Meant for: Almost every individual/organization using software products for personal productivity or professional ops. It is ideal for companies with existing Windows dependencies. 

Key features: Some key features of Microsoft include: 

• A captive customer base (i.e., Windows users) and strong infrastructure capabilities in Azure 
• A wide range of productivity tools for SMBs, enterprises, and even individual customers
• Tight integration with the company’s full software ecosystem 
• Enterprise operations products like Microsoft Dynamics 
• SaaS-based data analytics, thanks to the Microsoft Power Platform

USP: Microsoft’s biggest USP is its existing scale of reach, combined with its continually growing in-house expertise. The company has combined data analytics, good UX design, and endless third-party integrations to create a SaaS offering that genuinely adds value. 

Pricing: The company’s flagship SaaS product, Microsoft 365, follows a localized pricing model based on your region and feature set. 

Editorial comments: While Microsoft isn’t a SaaS-only company, it is explicit about its future direction and growing investment in cloud-based software services. With the rebranding of Office 365 into Microsoft 365, the company has emphasized the holistic value proposition it intends to provide through this new business model. 

Also Read: What Is Platform as a Service (PaaS)? Definition, Examples, Components, and Best Practices

6. Salesforce 

Overview: Salesforce is a SaaS-only company with a single flagship platform. The company tailors Salesforce for different industries like financial services, education, consumer goods, etc., as well as for businesses of different sizes. Apart from the product, Salesforce is also partly responsible for creating an inclusive, rewarding, and competitive work environment with the SaaS culture.

Meant for: Customer-centric businesses of all sizes and large enterprises in the B2C space, like CPG companies, banks, etc.

Key features: Few key features of Salesforce include: 

• A highly targeted core value proposition, aided by plug-ins, tools, and third-party integrations 
• Cutting-edge AI capabilities thanks to Einstein AI 
• An impressive tutorial and learning module called Trailhead 
• An expansive implementation partner, consultancy provider, and advisory ecosystem 
• Powerful data analytics and visualization capabilities 

USP: Salesforce provides an extremely comprehensive solution for your customer experience management and sales team management needs. 

Pricing: Salesforce’s pricing plan varies based on your use case, industry, number of employees, and the technologies in use. 

Editorial comments: Salesforce is among the early movers in CRM and continues to strengthen its product value through internal development and acquisitions. It has separately priced solutions for small businesses, ensuring its key features are available at an affordable price point for small teams. Enterprises can choose from its Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Commerce Cloud offerings. 

7. Xero

Overview: Based out of New Zealand, Xero provides cloud-based accounting software for businesses at relatively affordable rates. Enterprises can link Xero to their bank accounts and access payments with online-based invoices. The software helps businesses by suggesting potential matches between transactions entered in Xero and lines in the bank statement.

Meant for: Small and medium-sized businesses with targeted use cases in finance and accounting management.  

Key features: Some key features of Xero include: 

• An end-to-end accounting solutions software for bill and receipt capture, inventory management, bookkeeping, and bank reconciliation.
• A cloud platform that one can integrate with more than 1000 apps.
• All Xero plans allow an unlimited number of users at a low base price. 
• Easy sharing of data through accountants through email
• Access to online courses and bank feeds for all users.

USP: IDC MarketScape has noted Xero as a prominent player in the worldwide SaaS and cloud-enabled finance vendor assessment space. Xero is purpose-built for small and medium fast-growing enterprises like retailers, hotel chains, government agencies etc., Also, the company boasts of a strong partner network, comprising both third-party integrations and consultancy services.

Pricing: Xero offers the Early plan for $12, the Growing plan at $34, and the Established plan at $65. 

Editorial comments: Xero has a vibrant financial solution ecosystem, particularly with its Established plan that allows users to work with multiple currencies, advanced cash flow analytics, and reconciling transactions in bulk. Depending on the size and maturity of your business, you can choose an appropriate plan.

Also Read: Top 10 Cloud Security Challenges 2021 Needs to Address

8. ServiceNow 

Overview: ServiceNow is a workflow management company that lets you digitalize workflows in virtually any vertical and create white-labeled applications for your business needs. ServiceNow allows you to put together a solution using its pre-built components and customize the UI.

Meant for: Dev teams, agile product companies, and mid-sized to large organizations with multi-layered workflows. 

Key features: Few key features of ServiceNow include: 

• The powerful Now platform including AI, analytics, automations, and GUI-based UI optimization 
• Pre-built products like Vaccine Administration Management and Safe Workplace suite
• Third-party plugins and enablers for Zoom, Bitbucket, GitLab, Azure DevOps, etc. 
• Workflow automation for IT, HR, and CRM/CX
• Industry solutions for education, healthcare, financial services, retail, and more

USP: A major USP of ServiceNow is its Integration Hub – a low code Dev tool for building integrations and workplace automations inside the Now platform. This lets you connect with hundreds of business systems without requiring development efforts (also offers customization for PowerShell, REST, and OpenAPI as well). 

Pricing: Pricing for ServiceNow depends on the package you choose and implementation efforts, with some room for flexibility. 

Editorial comments: ServiceNow strikes the perfect balance between out-of-the-box ease of use and developer-grade customizability. Depending on your digital maturity and business needs, you could choose a pre-built and pre-configured point solution for a highly specific use case or deploy a loosely assembled SaaS app that acts as a platform for further development. 

9. Zoho 

Overview: Zoho is a suite of business tools and productivity enablers delivered via a SaaS model. The company provides several independent solutions that can be deployed as standalone units or a unified SaaS-based digital operating system, Zohe One. Zoho addresses use cases across CRM, workplace collaboration, HR, marketing, and IT service management, besides offering a customizable solution through Zoho Creator. 

Meant for: Small businesses to mid-sized enterprises looking to digitize their end-to-end operations. 

Key features: Some key features of Zoho include: 

• A low-code platform for building, integrating, and extending Zoho capabilities 
• Advanced analytics features embedded in Zoho apps 
• 45+ integrated apps to address specific business problems 
• Standalone business intelligence offering for self-service BI 
• AI-powered assistant, Ziya, for sales, CRM, and BI activities 

USP: Zoho’s biggest USP is its sheer flexibility of deployment. You can choose highly targeted SaaS apps like Zoho Survey to conduct online polls or Zoho Docs to manage files. Or, you could deploy app bundles for CRM, collaboration, finance, HR, IT, customer service, and business intelligence. Finally, there is a unified solution called Zoho One, comprising all 45+ apps. 

Pricing: Zoho’s multiple products across the back, mid, and front office are priced individually, tailored for SMBs. 

Editorial comments: Zoho has put together an impressive suite of SaaS apps covering nearly every business use case you could imagine. It has a powerful CRM for small to mid-sized businesses, the option to customize the tools and select your perfect solution mix. Finally, its wide range of mobile apps (with Apple Watch integration) offers an added advantage.

Also Read: What Is Multicloud Infrastructure? Definition, Components, and Management Best Practices

10. Zoom 

Overview: Zoom started as a SaaS-based video conferencing tool that could host up to 25 participants. Since then, it has rapidly grown and now offers a wide spread of communication capabilities, including Zoom chat, virtual events, cloud-based telephony, webinars, HD meetings, and conference room solutions. 

Meant for: Individual customers, business users, teams of every size, and large organizations – essentially anyone who needs a user-friendly and scalable collaboration solution. 

Key features: Few key features of Zoom include: 

• 360-degree communication and collaboration solutions for chat, telephony, and video (one-on-one group and webinars) 
• The Zoom for Home Offering for WFH setups and home offices 
• A developer platform to build your own APIs and SDKs on Zoom 
• Up to 500n participants per conference call 
• An emerging category of Zoom certified hardware devices for home offices and small conference rooms 

USP: Zoom has two key differentiators – ease of access and scalability. Small teams can start with the company’s free forever offering, even as the company invests in upgrading its security and compliance features for large enterprises. You could also leverage Zoom as a unified communication app with Zoom United, including chat, telephony, and video meetings. 

Pricing: You can choose solutions for meetings, telephony, events, and physical rooms, each priced individually. 

Editorial comments: Zoom was already on a winning streak before the pandemic and added several hundreds of millions of users in 2020. Its simple interface, OS-agnostic implementation, and straightforward pricing structure make it a favorite among video communication power users, despite Teams and Slack boasting similar capabilities. 

Also Read: Cloud vs. On-premise Comparison: Key Differences and Similarities

SaaS signals a brand new way of doing business, ensuring a recurring flow of subscription-led revenues for software providers and paving the way for faster release cycles, regularized upgrades, and stronger customer relationships. For users, there are significant cost and effort savings, as well as the ability to avoid vendor lock-in. These ten companies are at the head of the pack, inspiring cutting-edge innovations and a wave of industry disruptors making SaaS the new default for digital transformation on the way forward. 

Do you think SaaS will replace on-premise and perpetual licenses in the next five years? Share your thoughts with us on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We would love to hear from you!

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