According to a new forecast from Gartner, the technological research and consulting company, 75% of enterprises will prioritise backup of software-as-a-service applications as a critical requirement—compared to just 15% who do so in 2024.

SaaS-based apps have become a preferred choice for new and modernised deployments, with the data these applications generate expected to be among the fastest-growing sets of critical enterprise data over the next five years.

The increasing usage and reliance on SaaS is reflected in predicted spending, with worldwide end-user SaaS spend projected to grow 20% in 2024 to total $247.2 billion (£186bn~), and is predicted to reach nearly $300bn (£226bn~) next year, Gartner’s latest forecast further found.

“The risk of IT outages underscores the urgent need for regular backup and recovery of critical enterprise data,” explained Michael Hoeck, senior director analyst at Gartner.

“As businesses are more dependent on SaaS technologies, it becomes crucial to ensure that SaaS data is both protected and recoverable. Given the vulnerability of SaaS data to errors, cyberattacks, and vendor mishaps, robust backup solutions are indispensable.”

75% of Large Enterprises Will Adopt BaaS and On-prem Tools by 2028
In light of growing SaaS reliance, the SaaS app backup market is rapidly expanding. It was initially led by specialised startups, but now also includes established enterprise backup and recovery software solutions companies.

Gartner predicts that, by 2028, 75% of large enterprises will adopt Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) alongside on-premises tools to effectively back up cloud and on-prem workloads.

“Protection and recovery of SaaS applications have often been a lower priority for many enterprises,” continued Hoeck.

“This is due to confusion over the native SaaS vendor’s responsibility for data protection, and the lack of industry-level standardization. Limited API-based data access for protection and recovery from native SaaS vendors further complicates effective data protection, slowing support for third-party backup solutions.”

To more intentionally safeguard SaaS-based application data, Gartner suggests that organisations focus on:

• Governance assessment: Include data protection and recovery capabilities in the governance assessment of SaaS applications.
• Vendor capabilities: Verify the SaaS vendor’s ability to protect and recover data from all possible loss scenarios.
• Third-party solutions: Use third-party SaaS backup solutions to complement the native capabilities of SaaS vendors.

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“As the market matures, it is essential for businesses to conduct thorough governance assessments and verify the capabilities of their SaaS vendors,” Hoeck added.

“Leveraging third-party backup solutions can significantly enhance data protection and recovery, ensuring that enterprise data remains secure and accessible.”