SaaS management: What is it and how do you get started?

For startups and large organisations alike, Software as a Service (SaaS) is an essential part of keeping operations running smoothly. However, keeping track of all the SaaS applications you’re using can be tricky – and that’s where SaaS management comes in.

SaaS management helps you ensure you’re only paying for subscriptions you actually use. It helps you avoid overspending and keeps your software usage secure and compliant. In short, it’s an essential part of running a successful business.

In this article, we’ll cover what SaaS management is, why it’s important for your business and give you 5 tips for getting started with SaaS management.

What is SaaS management?

SaaS management is the process of managing and optimising the use of SaaS applications within a company’s tech portfolio.

In simple terms, the goal of SaaS management is to get a handle on the company’s SaaS applications and the costs and risks associated with them.

Key aspects of SaaS management include:

• Application discovery and inventory: Maintaining a clear inventory of SaaS applications is an essential part of SaaS management. It’s about noting which applications are in use and identifying duplicates, unnecessary tools and opportunities for consolidation.
• Licence management: SaaS management includes tracking the company’s licence usage to ensure it’s only paying for licences it’s actually using.
• Security and compliance: To ensure security and compliance, SaaS management includes monitoring and controlling who has access to specific software, ensuring protecting sensitive data across different platforms and making sure the company’s SaaS tools comply with industry regulations.
• Employee onboarding and offboarding: SaaS management includes granting and revoking user access when employees join or leave the company. 
• Spend and budget optimisation: An important aspect of SaaS management is to stay on top of all SaaS spending to prepare for future expenses and allocate software budgets.
• Performance monitoring: SaaS management includes keeping track of how applications are used and who uses them, as well as making sure applications integrate seamlessly with each other.

The modern business increasingly relies on cloud-based software solutions. This makes it more important than ever to keep costs down, ensure security and maintain efficiency – and that’s exactly what SaaS management aims to do.

The benefits: Why SaaS management is important for your business

For many companies, SaaS is a blind spot. It’s rife with low utilisation, redundancy, risk and little governance. It probably goes without saying that this makes it important to stay on top of your SaaS portfolio – but that’s not all.

Besides helping you avoid the problems above, SaaS management offers a variety of benefits that’ll help support your business as it grows.

Let’s take a look at some of them:

• Improved visibility: SaaS management helps ensure your IT teams can track and manage every tool in use. It reduces the likelihood of your portfolio filling up with unused or redundant software, and it makes it much easier to make informed decisions about your software ecosystem.
• Spend optimisation: With a complete overview of your SaaS subscriptions, you can better track where your money is going. This helps you spot areas where you’re overspending or paying for services you don’t strictly need.
• Risk reduction: SaaS management strengthens your security and compliance, ensuring your applications meet necessary standards and reducing risks and regulatory burdens. SaaS tools can also help you automate deprovisioning, ensuring security gaps are closed quickly.
• Operational efficiency: Wasting time on manual tasks related to software tracking, licence management and usage monitoring is a thing of the past – through automation, SaaS management helps boost your operational efficiency.
• Employee satisfaction: With proper SaaS management, your employees always have access to the right tools without administrative hurdles. Improved visibility also ensures your IT teams will be better equipped to support employees, troubleshoot issues and provide informed guidance.

In short, there’s a lot to gain from investing in SaaS management. So how do you get started? That’s exactly what we’ll get into next.

5 tips: How to get started with SaaS management

1. Take stock of your SaaS tools

To get started with SaaS management, the first thing you need to do is audit all SaaS applications currently in use within your organisation. Include all SaaS applications, whether they’re officially sanctioned or used informally (shadow IT).

The audit should give you a clear baseline for managing your SaaS estate and identifying redundant or underutilised tools.

2. Implement a SaaS management platform

Having the right tools on hand is important. To centralise the tracking of applications, licences and user access, we recommend investing in a SaaS management platform.

SaaS management platforms can help you automate tasks such as managing renewals, monitoring usage and handling provisioning/deprovisioning – all of which simplify your ongoing SaaS management and oversight.

3. Set up rules for SaaS procurement

Part of effective SaaS management is ensuring that your SaaS portfolio doesn’t continuously fill up with subscriptions and tools you don’t need.

To do that, we recommend creating guidelines for how employees can request and procure new SaaS tools. This reduces shadow IT by ensuring all new applications are vetted for security, compliance and budget before they’re purchased and implemented.

4. Keep an eye on usage and licences

To avoid wasting money on subscriptions you don’t need, regularly review your SaaS usage data to ensure all tools are being used efficiently.

Be on the lookout for areas to optimise. Adjust licence counts, downgrade unused subscriptions and consolidate tools where possible. This’ll help you reduce unnecessary costs and make sure you’re getting the most value from your subscriptions.

5. Stay on top of security and compliance

Security and compliance should always be a priority – and SaaS management can help you strengthen access control and compliance tracking in your organisation.

Set up your SaaS management platform to automate provisioning and deprovisioning processes to ensure the right people have access to the right tools. This’ll also help mitigate security risks when offboarding employees.

Wrapping up

SaaS management might sound like just another thing to add to your to-do list – but we’ll venture the benefits are worth the investment. SaaS management can simplify your business operations, cut down on unnecessary costs and keep your software secure and compliant.

By taking stock of your tools, setting up smart policies and staying on top of usage and security, you’ll have more control over your SaaS stack and get the most out of every application.