SaaS software popularity charts: impact of the global pandemic [Report]

That the COVID-19 crisis has shifted the way the world works is no surprise. The pandemic has transformed industries overnight and has made remote work the norm. And to enable companies and employees to manage remote working comfortably, SaaS software played an essential role. That’s what we aimed to find out at SaaSworthy as we looked at SaaS software categories and software that saw the highest jump in searches during the peak of the global pandemic. There were also software categories that witnessed a decline in popularity amidst the corona crisis, and the report mentions them too. We also looked at which software categories and software were most searched during this time.

Before we highlight the findings of the report, it must be mentioned that the report has been created using SaaSworthy’s data and was corroborated with third-party sources. While the corona crisis continues, we’ve considered March and April 2020 as the peak period of the pandemic, and used search volume from that period to compare with search volume from January and February 2020, wherever applicable.

The report has been embedded below for your perusal, but if you are pressed for time, we’ve summarized the key findings below.

Table of Contents

SaaS software and categories that saw the biggest change in popularity

It’s important to look at the categories and software that grew the most to acknowledge the shifts in the SaaS industry, and understand what people are looking for during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some highlights:

1) Virtual classroom, webinar and video conferencing, and telemedicine are the three categories that saw the biggest jump in popularity

2) When it comes to software that grew the most in search volume, webinar and video conferencing software like Cisco Webex Meetings, Airmeet, and Google Meet (formerly Hangouts Meet) dominate the list

3) Amidst the software categories that saw the biggest dip in popularity, GDPR compliance, association management, and car rental software top the list

SaaS software and categories that top the charts

Worth noting that there’s a contrast between categories and software that gained popularity versus the categories and software that are the most popular. It could be because the software that are already popular didn’t have to do anything to attract prospective users, while others beefed up their marketing strategy, or even offered free limited-time subscription or extended trial offers to entice users, which helped them witness significant growth. Yet, the software that have gained the most may not be the most popular.

Take Zoom as an example. In terms of webinar and video conferencing software that gained the most in popularity, it occupies the fourth spot. But in terms of actual search volume, Zoom tops the list with 5.1 million searches in Mar and April 2020, and has 5x the search volume of the next software in the list (Google Meet). Some other highlights:

1) URL shorteners, video editing, and photo editing are the most popular software categories

2) Zoom, Sayari and Office 365 are the most searched software

3) Tally is the most popular ERP software, and is 7x larger than the next software in the category (Fulcrum)

4) Canva is the most popular graphic design software and is ~5x more popular than the next software in the list (Marvel)

5) In the payroll category, GreytHR dominates with its popularity being 15x higher than the next software (Gusto)

6) Remote access software as a category grew in popularity, and the software that grew the most were AnyDesk and TeamViewer which are massively popular, especially when compared to others in the category

Check out the report to see which software in various categories grew the most or were most popular in terms of searches. Let us know in the comment box below about the software categories/ software that caught your attention the most.