How 5G Technology Will Be A Gamechanger For Indian SaaS

A few years ago, when the 4G rollout started, no one could have imagined the impact on Indian society. Through rapid rollout across the country and some of the most competitive data prices globally, India is today amongst the larger consumers of high-quality mobile data. This has built and transformed large industries across entertainment (OTT), and finance (fintech and inclusion) among many other use cases.

Now, as the 5G rollout starts, it is likely to move our country to a new paradigm. Increased internet speeds will impact all aspects of business and our personal lives in multiple ways. A technology that promises up to 20 times faster speeds compared to 4G, it will transform the way services are delivered on the cloud and on our devices. 

Telecom companies, with the next phase of growth driven by the rollout of 5G services, to SaaS companies who will deliver a whole new set of solutions, and device manufacturers who expect to replace 20%-30% of mobile devices over the next couple of years — everyone is looking to get their share of this pie.  

The 5G era will lead to the migration of solutions and services to the cloud at an increased pace- ultimately services, which were traditionally delivered in myriad offline ways, will start getting delivered as SaaS. 

A Quantum Leap For Consumers & Industry 4.0

We will see an increased focus on the improvement of cloud and network infrastructure, with the development of richer applications and solutions. Specifically focused on video, AR/VR & IoT, both corporate and consumer industries will see service improvements, new delivery designs, and increased efficiencies.  

Investments in these areas have already started, and we are already working with multiple startups designing immersive customer experiences in industries across gaming, fashion, retail and healthcare across the consumer technology sector, and improvements in industrial automation, manufacturing and design. 

Organisations across sectors are beginning to make investments to transform their solutions and getting ready to deliver 5G services as they roll out. As costs and delivery quality are balanced, we are seeing increased activity in developing SaaS-based offerings, as consumers seek convenience and the industry builds on-demand, rapidly expandable offerings.

5G & Government

Apart from such solutions, with better connectivity across the country, we will see a massive transformation in the delivery of education and healthcare services by the government in rural areas and other geographies where network connectivity so far was poor. The government’s focus on rolling out Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) to rural centres will allow telehealth, diagnostics and home-based care to expand.

As digital payment networks further grow, and initiatives like ONDC expand, it will soon be possible for a resident of a small hamlet to order material from a seller in a nearby town — true digital inclusion for our country’s vast population. 

Smart Homes & Smart Cities

High quality and low latency connectivity are fundamental for IoT devices, helping drive the development of smart cities. This network, empowered by cloud-based services will form the core for the development of smart cities — a key initiative of governments across the world.

For consumers, smart wearables and smart homes will see growth like never before. The devices will not need local storage as devices will communicate with the cloud with near-zero latency. 

Role Of Telcos

With Telcos playing a major role in enabling and providing high speeds, it is only a matter of time before they start hosting and selling such services themselves! This will be a very interesting development where their large captive customer base can be targeted for various SaaS solution providers. Edge computing will provide devices resources to compute on site, using distributed cloud and offering high bandwidth, low latency, data offload as well as trusted computing and storage.

A sizeable influx of R&D and the beginning of a cycle of investments is starting towards the development of solutions, leveraging 5G networks to deliver ‘future ready’ & ‘future required’ solutions. 

Emerging scenarios include:

• Cellular and Fixed Wireless Networks with speeds like never before 
• Accessibility will not be restricted to Tier 1 cities and corporate networks but will reach every corner of the country
• Developers will build rich solutions and deliver better experiences — education, healthcare, entertainment 
• Solutions delivered through the cloud 
• Service providers/Telcos will not only host but also sell such solutions to their large customer base

Collectively, when you look at these scenarios, the future is SaaS and where growth is, investments will follow!

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