India’s IT services landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, with subscription-based models emerging as the preferred choice for businesses of all sizes. The shift from traditional CAPEX-driven IT procurement to OPEX-focused subscription services has gained momentum, driven by the need for scalability, cost efficiency, and flexibility. Bishan Singh, Head of Channel Ecosystem at Zoho Corp, sheds light on the factors propelling this trend, the challenges to adoption, and the opportunities it presents for businesses and channel partners.
Key Trends Shaping Subscription-Based IT Services
Subscription-based IT services are gaining traction in India due to several macroeconomic and technological factors. According to Bishan Singh, businesses in India are embracing subscription models because they offer a more predictable, controlled, and scalable approach to technology adoption. “As businesses face pressure to manage costs and improve flexibility, subscription models allow companies to sidestep heavy capital expenditures and make technology spending an operational expenditure,” explains Bishan.
He also added, “This not only makes subscription models relevant for businesses of all sizes, but they particularly suit the Indian market because businesses in India avoid making large upfront infrastructure investments without being sure of the value derived in return.”
He further highlights the rapid adoption of cloud technology as a significant driver of this growth. Indian businesses are increasingly relying on cloud infrastructure for flexibility, storage, and computing power. "With cloud-first strategies, subscription models are almost the default models to drive digital transformation within organisations," says Bishan. Moreover, as hybrid work environments gain traction, businesses need flexible technology solutions that support collaboration and coordination between remote teams. Subscription models for collaboration and cybersecurity solutions are preferred to drive productivity and security in this new paradigm.
“At Zoho, we already offer subscription-based services. Our cloud portfolio, consisting of 55+ business applications, is available through a subscription model. Our subscription plans are typically structured on a per-user, per-month basis, with different editions/tiers of service depending on the features and functionalities required," notes Bishan. This allows businesses to pay based on their conviction on the solution, scale of their operations in the function, or the feature set they need, making it scalable, flexible, and value-driven for companies of all sizes.
Opportunities for Partners
As subscription-based IT services become more popular, the role of channel partners becomes increasingly important. Bishan says “Partners are crucial for businesses providing subscription-based IT services. They not only bring specialized product expertise that customers can rely on for service configuration, customization, deployment, and post-deployment support but also the niche domain skills and best practices from the industry. With technologies like SaaS, it's true that we today have democratised access to modern tools, shorter deployment cycles, and greater transparency in pricing. At the same time, the value of the right partner remains crucial as ever, if not more, keeping in mind that many more customers across the spectrum—from small startups to large enterprises in traditional industries—now have access to technology. In fact, as demand for SaaS tools grow, right partnerships are important for the SaaS providers to serve customers at scale.”
As the demand for SaaS solutions continues to rise, partnerships have become even more crucial for SaaS providers. “The right partners understand these business drivers and, when necessary, assist in designing or redesigning processes for optimal outcomes. They can help customers nail the use cases with either out-of-the-box solutions or customizations, and also bring valuable local insights. In a linguistically diverse nation like India, partners further help by engaging with customers in the vernacular, ensuring effective communication and better adoption,” Bishan adds.
Bishan highlights that as the adoption of subscription-based services grows, the opportunities for partners to add value are multiplying. “In short, as adoption of subscription-based services like SaaS grows and becomes more widespread, the opportunities for partners to add value are multiplying, creating a wealth of potential for collaboration and success," he concludes.
Addressing Barriers to Adoption in India
While subscription-based IT services offer several advantages, there are still challenges that hinder widespread adoption, particularly in India. Bishan identifies three key barriers:
1. Price Sensitivity: Many businesses, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are cautious about committing to recurring subscription fees, fearing long-term financial strain. To address this, Zoho offers flexible pricing models that allow businesses to pay based on the scale of operations or adoption, making it easier for them to scale services as they grow or as they adopt.
2. Lag in technology adoption: In the last few years, businesses in India have caught up well in terms of cloud technology adoption and leveraging it as a core differentiator. Despite the progress, businesses here still lag in the adoption journey vis-a-vis their counterparts from other parts of the world. Some of this is caused by unfamiliarity with the benefits of subscription-based cloud models, such as predictable costs and scalability. To overcome this, Zoho and our channel partners focus on educating the market through webinars, workshops, and case studies, showcasing the advantages and ROI of subscription-based services.
3. Trust and Security Concerns: Many businesses are still hesitant to move critical operations to the cloud or even adopt subscription-based IT services due to concerns about data security and service reliability and availability. To provide businesses a secure experience while using its services, Zoho follows a robust security framework based on OWASP standards for its software development processes. Furthermore, Zoho owns the entire technology stack—from apps and services to networks and data centres, in different locations across the world, including India. We also hold ISO/IEC 27001 certification for managing information security, ISO/IEC 27107 for cloud security management, and ISO/IEC 27018 for managing personal data on the cloud.
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