Dive Brief:

• Companies use 16 Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps on average today, up 33% from last year, according to BetterCloud's 2017 State of the SaaS-Powered Workplace Report, released Thursday.

• Over 70% of organizations surveyed said nearly all of their apps will be SaaS by 2020, according to the report, which included survey responses from over 1,800 IT professionals

• Overall, the Software-as-a-Service market is expected to surpass $112.8 billion in revenue by 2019, according to International Data Corporation.

Dive Insight:

SaaS and as-a-Service models in general are growing quickly. A recent Accenture/HFS survey found more than half of senior business leaders want to adopt as a Service features within two years. There's a lot to like. Software as a service has been shown to help companies smooth out revenues, which can lead to better and more sustainable investment decisions and ultimately allow a company to deliver better service and products to clients

But the shift to as-a-Service models doesn't come without challenges. The key will be whether IT professionals can be innovative when it comes to what they do, what they are responsible for and meeting budget.