The SaaS market has experienced tremendous growth, with an estimated value of $208 billion by 2023, and this figure will only continue to rise.
Cloud-based software has become a popular alternative to traditional IT deployments due to its fast and cost-effective nature and the ability to easily scale up or down according to business needs.
However, managing multiple SaaS applications can be challenging for businesses. With each application serving a different purpose, managing hundreds of subscriptions can be overwhelming, making it difficult to monitor app usage and maintain data security.
To address these challenges, companies resort to SaaS management, a process that helps manage multiple subscriptions and tools efficiently.
In this article, we’ll explain what SaaS management is, its benefits, and how SaaS management platforms can assist businesses in managing their subscriptions effectively.
What is SaaS management?
SaaS management is an emerging field that deals with managing cloud-based software applications used by companies.
The widespread adoption of SaaS solutions is due to their flexibility, scalability, and accessibility, but it also creates a challenge in managing the increasing number of subscriptions.
The main goal of SaaS management is to minimize the risk of uncontrolled tools and technologies in a company, enhance the value of each software used, and improve the efficiency of teams that rely on it to achieve their goals.
However, managing the growing number of SaaS subscriptions can be overwhelming for finance and IT teams.
Fortunately, a suitable SaaS management platform can help manage subscriptions, track application usage, and ensure compliance, all in one place.
Why does a company need SaaS management?
Managing SaaS applications can be a challenging task that can lead to wasted time and money, security threats, compliance issues, and even affect company culture. Although SaaS was initially convenient, it has now become a double-edged sword.
However, using a SaaS management platform can help you overcome these challenges.
Increase visibility
As a company’s technology stack grows, managing multiple applications becomes increasingly difficult.
Often, business leaders are unaware of all the software tools their organization is using, leading to issues such as duplicate subscriptions, wasted budget, and overlapping functionality.
To address this problem, SaaS management platforms provide a single dashboard that offers complete visibility into every piece of software your company uses.
With this platform, you can view usage breakdowns, active/inactive statuses, renewal dates, total software spending, and more.
By having full visibility into all your tools and understanding how they are being used, you can make informed decisions about whether to keep or cancel a particular piece of software.
This can help you save money and optimize your technology stack for maximum efficiency.
Prevent Shadow IT
It has been found that approximately 21% of companies do not have a documented policy for the evaluation and purchase of SaaS applications.
This lack of policy increases the risk of “Shadow IT”, wherein employees may use software or services without proper approval or knowledge from IT or the team responsible for new software approval.
The use of unauthorized software, also known as informal SaaS or Shadow IT, can pose significant security risks.
When employees use unvetted software, they may unintentionally store sensitive data in unsecured locations or unknowingly grant access to confidential information.
To avoid such risks, management must keep track of all the software used throughout the company and ensure compliance with company policies.
Streamline onboarding and offboarding
In today’s world, where more and more work is being shifted to the cloud, it’s crucial to ensure that new team members have access to the necessary software to perform their jobs proficiently.
Proper SaaS management can help you manage licenses and offer an efficient employee onboarding experience.
Moreover, SaaS management can also streamline offboarding. If an employee leaves, you can easily see which software they have accounts on and revoke their access.
This helps to mitigate security risks and ensure the safety of your company’s data.
Control and manage SaaS spend
Many companies have reported that only a small percentage of their SaaS subscriptions provide value to their organization. This means that any software that doesn’t add value simply costs the company money.
However, there is a solution to this issue. By using a SaaS subscription management platform, it is possible to monitor the usage of each piece of software and cancel any subscriptions that are not frequently used.
This can help you control SaaS spending and avoid getting locked into another payment cycle.
Ensure compliance
A SaaS subscription management platform can provide you with the necessary tools to evaluate the security measures of your chosen vendors. Using such a platform ensures that your company and user data remains safe and secure.
This is especially important in today’s digital age, where cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
With a SaaS subscription management platform, you can have peace of mind knowing that you are taking all the necessary steps to protect your sensitive data.
Top SaaS Management Platforms
If you’re in the market for a SaaS management platform, you’re likely aware that many options are available with varying use cases, functionality, and costs.
Generally speaking, SaaS management solutions can be divided into four main categories:
- SaaS Operations Management (SaaSOps Automation)
- SaaS Spend Management (Application Cost Optimization)
- SaaS Vendor Management (License Renewals, Subscription Management)
- Shadow IT (Compliance, Application Security)
Beyond these four main categories, SaaS management software can also offer different features and capabilities.
Some of the most common features include Application Discovery, Application Usage Insights, User Management, Application Cost Optimization, License Renewals, Vendor Management, Compliance, and SaaS Stack Security.
It’s important to remember that these features can vary depending on the specific software you’re considering.
It’s worth noting that there is no one-size-fits-all SaaS management platform. Each company has its unique needs and requirements, meaning different software will work better for different organizations.
However, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best SaaS management platforms available to help you save time and find one that’s a good fit for your specific needs.
1. Zylo
Zylo provides a software-as-a-service management solution for enterprises that focuses on spend management and shadow IT.
Their platform helps optimize SaaS licensing, control costs, eliminate shadow IT, and assist in renewal negotiations, among other things.
To derive your SaaS software data, Zylo’s platform uses your login information and mainly financial integrations. This gives you visibility into app usage, user activity, and spending on each app.
2. Productiv
Productiv is a tool that provides companies with crucial information about how their employees use software to collaborate and work.
By analyzing login data, Productiv goes beyond basic metrics to deliver insightful analytics that can inform smarter license allocations and more efficient renewals. With its data-driven approach,
Productiv is a valuable addition to any SaaS stack, helping to increase its overall value.
3. Torii
Torii platform is a powerful tool that empowers IT managers to take control of their organization’s SaaS applications development.
By providing comprehensive discovery, auditing, and control features, Torii helps IT managers optimize SaaS licensing, automate repetitive workflows, and streamline shadow IT management without being invasive to users.
With its intuitive, user-friendly dashboard and powerful analytics capabilities, Torii provides actionable insights and real-time reports that help IT managers gain visibility and control over their organization’s SaaS stack.
It also helps ensure that employees don’t use redundant tools, manages SaaS subscriptions, and controls access to each app.
Moreover, Torii takes care of data security by managing access for offboarded employees.
By automating regular tasks like renewals, upgrades, downgrades, and access changes, Torii saves IT managers time and effort. With integrated bots, Torii makes SaaS management a breeze.
4. Vendr
Vendr, previously known as Blissfully, provides companies with tools to manage their Saas operations, employee onboarding and offboarding, SaaS security and compliance, and SaaS spend optimization.
It offers a comprehensive view of your SaaS tools usage, keeps it organized, and enables you to manage control and track changes seamlessly across your organization.
Vendr has an extensive library of workflows and automation that allows you to collaboratively manage and control all your SaaS tools from a centralized dashboard. You can create and save your workflows and customize them to fit your specific needs.
One of the key features of Vendr is its ability to optimize your SaaS spend. It keeps track of your software spending and usage data to help you get the most out of your investment.
Additionally, Vendr maintains a log of all permissions, authentication, and compliance data to ensure your SaaS tools are secure and compliant.
5. BetterCloud
BetterCloud is a powerful tool that enables IT teams to take full control of their SaaS environment.
With continuous event monitoring, fully automated policy enforcement, and individual/bulk remedial action, IT teams can define, remediate threats, and enforce security policies in SaaS apps.
Its deep API connections allow IT to monitor user behavior, system configurations, and data-related activity across SaaS apps.
Moreover, IT can use advanced automation sequences to implement custom policies in their apps, including user onboarding/offboarding, data exposure, user and team settings, and least privilege admin access.
Get started today with a SaaS Management Platform!
Companies can benefit from having well-established and thoughtful SaaS management processes in place. Such processes can provide complete visibility over subscriptions, identify which purchases are driving ROI, and facilitate workflows to reduce wasted time and team conflicts.
By using a holistic SaaS management process, finance teams and other departments can efficiently manage their subscriptions, track usage, get renewal reminders, automate reconciliations, and much more.
It’s important to implement a comprehensive SaaS management process that enables businesses to continue using SaaS solutions as intended – as innovative tools that foster collaboration and save money.
With the right SaaS subscription management tool, businesses can manage all their subscriptions in one place effortlessly.
Book a demo today to learn how VisionX can help you take control of your SaaS subscriptions.
