Cloud-based software has risen considerably over the last decade, to the point where nearly every business relies on cloud-based services to run parts of their operations. One of the earliest movers in the cloud space was Salesforce.com, which aimed to unseat the likes of SAP and Oracle in the CRM market. Today, Salesforce.com has revenues of around $3 billion, 10,000 employees around the world, and a range of products beyond CRM.
The rise in the cloud has made software less expensive and more available to everyone. Before, there would be considerable one-off expenses to integrating and deploying a new piece of enterprise software, not to mention all the risk that comes with making the wrong decision. Today, most of the fixed costs are removed, and businesses typically pay a monthly fee depending on their usage. Not only does this make the one-off costs lower, it makes software available to everyone that was previously only available to the biggest of businesses.