Moment of reckoning for SaaS firms with US market in a spot

Indian Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors – forced by the current belt tightening in the United States – are sharpening focus on products, hiring judiciously and reining in marketing spends even as they explore new market and geographic niches, according to top entrepreneurs and executives.

As the first-order macroeconomic headwinds reach Indian shores, several SaaS companies say there has been heightened churn in the small business segment. Macroeconomic worries have been identified as a clear and present ‘risk factor’, though businesses claim operating margin levels for the Indian SaaS industry are higher compared to global peers and cross-country rivals in the consumer segment.