Gartner Digital Markets hosts the Insights Summit, unveiling 2025’s Software Buying Trends

The Insights Summit is Gartner Digital Markets’ exclusive gathering of software leaders to learn the latest software buyer trends and discover strategies to secure a spot on buyer shortlists and ignite growth.

Bengaluru, 1st October 2024 - Gartner Digital Markets—the world’s largest platform for finding software and services, including Capterra, GetApp, Software Advice, and UpCity—recently convened the Insights Summit in India’s Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, Karnataka, to address the SaaS industry's pressing challenges. After a year of economic uncertainty, SaaS leaders seek innovative strategies to find efficient growth and secure their  place on software buyer shortlists.

The Insights Summit featured a   distinguished panel of speakers  from Gartner Digital Markets, including Narayan Adeeb, VP of  India Operations; Pit Rissiek, VP of Sales APAC and EMEA;  and Saby Khanduja, Senior Sales Manager. Joining them on stage were SaaS leaders Dhivya Venkatesan, Head of  Marketing at Sign easy, and Abhigna Kashyap, Senior Director and Global Head of Brand Content, and Social Media at LTI Mindtree.

The conference theme was “Securing Your Spot on Buyer Shortlists.” The Insights Summit brought together 68 industry experts and thought leaders to provide actionable insights and best practices for SaaS businesses. Participants learned about the latest software buyer trends, emerging technologies, and effective marketing strategies to drive growth.

The event featured exclusive research that surveyed 3,500 software buyers and company  decision-makers. The study focused on the challenges of software selection, the latest AI trends and buyer preferences, and strategies for software providers to optimise their performance on the Gartner Digital Markets platform. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to network with other India-based SaaS leaders seeking to accelerate their growth.

Gartner Digital Markets offers objective research and verified reviews to B2B companies    searching for software in India through its Capterra India website. As a comprehensive resource, Capterra India is the country's go-to destination for software search. Software companies use the Gartner Digital Markets platform to reach active buyers and capture demand in India and worldwide.

Key insights discussed in the Insights Summit included:

• Optimistic SaaS spending is forecasted for 2025: 82% of companies surveyed plan   to increase their software spending in 2025. India is the most confident of the countries surveyed, planning to increase its spending by 89%. Top priorities for software purchase are Cybersecurity (37%), IT management (31%), and AI (31%).

• Customer reviews: Customer reviews are buyers' most influential information source  for narrowing their initial purchase options and creating a shortlist of products (41%). Final purchase decisions are made predominantly after product trials (62%) and  impressions made by the vendor’s customer support (57%).

• Buyer regret: Over half of companies have experienced regret over a technology purchase in the last year. The more a buyer relies solely on information from a vendor   to buy software, the more often they experience regret. This makes it more necessary for vendors to boost their credibility through third parties.

• AI adoption: More than a third of decision-makers plan to assess the value and risk of generative AI. From 2024 to 2025, there has been a 70% increase in organisations anticipating challenges evaluating the value and risk of generative AI.

Pit outlined Gartner Digital Markets' mission to assist software companies in building effective brands through profiles, reviews, and badges. He emphasised capturing in-market demand and gaining insights into market and product sentiment by analysing reviews of your product and competitors. Pit  highlighted that building a compelling profile is crucial for brand positioning and noted that cost and pricing are the primary factors buyers consider when searching for software. He emphasised that reviews are pivotal in bringing credibility to your Gartner Digital Markets platform profile.

The event included a panel discussion headed by Saby Khanduja, during which marketing leaders Dhivya Venkatesan and Abhigna Kashyap discussed strategies for making their companies stand out to potential buyers. Topics covered included resource allocation, channel effectiveness, and reputation-building. The discussion was highly interactive, with participants engaging in lively Q&A sessions with the audience and sharing their experiences.

Reflecting on the Insights Summit’s significance, Narayan Adeeb, VP of India Operations of Gartner Digital Markets, says, “The success of the Summit lies in the ambition that the software leaders brought with them along with their trust in us to help them build their brand and capture demand. We were pleased to share our latest research and insights, which expectedly led to some powerful conversations. Most importantly, each interaction with those  leading the charge in the industry revitalised our mission to empower organisations towards success with the right technology choices while being impact partners to software providers that would help propel them to new heights.“

About Gartner Digital Markets

Gartner Digital Markets is the world’s largest platform for finding software and services. More than 100 million people visit Capterra, GetApp, Software Advice, and UpCity across over 70 localised sites yearly to read objective research and verified customer reviews that help them confidently choose the right software and services. Thousands of B2B companies work with Gartner Digital Markets to build their brand, capture buyer demand, and grow their business.

Media Contact

Palash Bhattacharjee palash.bhattacharjee@gartner.com