SaaS implementation delays result in business losses: Zoho, IDC report

While speed of implementation is critical, 75% of enterprises surveyed said they faced delays, resulting in an average time overrun of 57% and a cost overrun of 43%

Time and cost overruns are slowing the implementation of software as a service (SaaS) solutions among Indian enterprises seeking digital transformation, according to a report by Zoho and market research firm IDC.

 

While speed of implementation is critical, 75 per cent of enterprises surveyed said they faced delays, resulting in an average time overrun of 57 per cent and a cost overrun of 43 per cent. These delays have led to a loss of about Rs 6 crore in business opportunities, employee productivity and customer experience.

 

“Long deployment cycles escalate cost, slow down innovation, and reduce market responsiveness. Enterprises need a strategic approach—one that integrates automation, contextual intelligence and development tools to accelerate implementation and unlock SaaS value faster,” said Sharath Srinivasamurthy, associate vice president, IDC India.

   

Nearly all enterprises surveyed agreed that on-time implementation is critical, but 53 per cent said delays hindered digital transformation and business growth, while 48 per cent reported customer dissatisfaction.

 

The main reasons for the delays included project management inefficiencies (47 per cent), unexpected integration and security challenges (38 per cent), talent shortages (38 per cent) and technical complexities in new solutions (38 per cent).

 

“Our platform-first approach eliminates common implementation bottlenecks by offering deeply integrated applications, low-code extensibility and AI-powered automation. This helps businesses deploy solutions and go live faster,” said Mani Vembu, chief executive, Zoho.

 

Delays were reported across critical sectors such as healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and retail. Key SaaS drivers included customer relationship management (CRM), business intelligence and analytics (BI) and finance and accounting (F&A) solutions.

 

For instance, in financial services, 75 per cent of enterprises faced higher costs, 60 per cent encountered disruptions in digital transformation, and 55 per cent reported customer dissatisfaction due to prolonged implementation timelines.