How to decide on a SaaS administration platform
Thanks to pandemic-spurred distant work, corporations face a deluge of latest cloud-based functions in use throughout the enterprise. Tools that may deal with the SaaS sprawl intention to find, handle, and safe these apps.
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The flood of distant employees in the beginning of the worldwide pandemic in early 2020 had corporations scrambling to seek out new software program for speaking and collaborating with distant employees. Many turned to software-as-a-service (SaaS) choices.
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It was an apparent alternative. Under the SaaS mannequin, functions are hosted and maintained by a third-party vendor and delivered to staff over the web, making them straightforward to deploy remotely.
SaaS apps are subscription-based, usually charged month-to-month or yearly per consumer or “seat,” with out the big up-front funding conventional on-premises software program requires. Introduced within the early 2000s, SaaS has soared in recognition through the years and is now the main technique of software program supply.
The shift to SaaS from conventional software program can also be a part of many corporations’ digital transformation initiatives. “The whole notion behind digital transformation and modernization is to be more resilient and more agile,” says Frank Della Rosa, analysis director for SaaS and cloud software program at IDC. “With legacy software, the time it takes to bring up new infrastructure and the time it takes to deploy the software really limits a business’ ability to respond to change.”
SaaS choices even have a bonus of their capacity to make new options obtainable extra steadily than conventional software program choices. “With SaaS, the release cadence is happening on a quarterly basis,” says Della Rosa. “There’s a constant stream of new capabilities that businesses can take advantage of, which is not available to legacy software customers.”
The downside with SaaS
The ease with which SaaS functions could be deployed means line-of-business leaders, small groups, and even people can start utilizing them simply — and that, in flip, has led to a proliferation of SaaS apps in lots of enterprises. In its 2021 Businesses at Work report, for instance, entry administration supplier Okta reported that its prospects have deployed a median of 88 apps, a rise of twenty-two% over the previous 4 years. Larger prospects (2,000 or extra staff) have a median of 175 apps, whereas smaller corporations (beneath 2,000) deploy a median of 73 apps.
“These buying decisions now are democratized,” says Della Rosa. “What we’ve seen with SaaS is that users will take out a credit card and buy the tools they need, and then submit the expense. So now you have an enormous explosion of expenses coming in with software licenses that are creating a real headache in terms of being able to manage that spend.”
In addition, redundancies have arisen as completely different departments find yourself shopping for the identical sort of software program with out figuring out what is going on on in different areas of the enterprise. When subscription renewals come up, the procurement division typically has no visibility into whether or not the software program generates any actual worth for the enterprise.
“If you look at the proliferation of SaaS in an enterprise, [companies] could be underreporting the number of applications by a factor of 10,” says Della Rosa.
The continued development of SaaS apps throughout organizations is turning into a significant ache level for IT managers, who have to know not solely what’s being deployed, however whether or not the apps are safe, whether or not they meet compliance rules, and the way a lot cash is being spent on them.
What SaaS administration instruments do
A class of instruments to assist handle the SaaS sprawl has grown as nicely over current years. Depending on the group defining the class, these might be known as SaaS administration platforms (SMPs) or SaaS operations administration software program (SaaSOps). Gartner, which refers to this class as SMPs, says such instruments are provided by pure-play distributors, in addition to conventional software program asset administration (SAM) distributors, cloud platform administration and cloud migration distributors, cloud entry safety brokers, and even some IT service administration distributors.
“Traditional SAM tools are still largely focused on the management of non-SaaS applications where an installation is present,” Gartner wrote in its February 2021 Market Guide for SaaS Management Platforms. “However, leading SAM vendors are increasingly adding capabilities natively, or through acquisition, to support the discovery of SaaS applications and manage licenses.” Gartner refers to a few of these distributors as “SAM for SaaS,” which may additional complicate an organization’s analysis.
IDC’s Della Rosa says most SaaS administration platforms developed out of spend administration and optimization instruments that assist organizations get a deal with on the sum of money being spent on SaaS throughout the enterprise. Over time, SaaS administration corporations started so as to add extra options, equivalent to software safety, vendor administration, value optimization, and onboarding/offboarding configuration for workers. Many distributors now present SaaS app suggestion providers, giving recommendation on which SaaS apps could also be higher for a specific downside or class.
The marketplace for SaaS administration is booming proper together with the explosion of SaaS apps themselves. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 50% of organizations utilizing a number of SaaS functions will centralize administration and utilization of those apps by an SMP instrument, up from lower than 20% utilizing them in 2021.
Experts say organizations ought to take into account SaaS administration software program in the event that they discover a surge in subscription bills, if a number of departments begin shopping for the identical software program, if the safety of us specific concern over whether or not the apps in use are safe and compliant with rules, or if attempting to handle software program purchases in a spreadsheet is turning into a nightmare.
Key SaaS administration options to search for
First and foremost, the instruments ought to have the ability to deal with at the very least three main duties: automated discovery of apps inside a corporation’s infrastructure; managing and automating administrative capabilities, equivalent to onboarding/offboarding; and offering a centralized location for imposing app and knowledge safety insurance policies for the SaaS portfolio.
Additional options and performance may additionally be included. For instance, some instruments present for role-based entry controls; supply the power to doc, cancel, switch, and improve software program licenses; have a central reporting system for executives or compliance audits; let directors create a catalog of permitted apps that staff can obtain; monitor worker adoption and utilization of apps and forecast future wants; and/or present SaaS app suggestion providers to cut back app overlap and optimize spending. Many automation capabilities depend on integrations with SaaS suppliers, so make sure you examine the integrations provided by any SMP you’re contemplating.
Beyond discovery and administration capabilities, Della Rosa says he’s receiving many inquiries concerning safety and compliance considerations over SaaS installations.
“Depending on the data an application accesses, it introduces risk, because there’s no way to confirm that it’s being used in compliance and that the vendors providing the app are also current in their compliance [with] industry and regional regulations,” he says. “Being able to track and ensure that all users are authorized — identity and access management is key.”
Della Rosa says organizations ought to have a look at distributors that may assist them resolve their instant wants, whether or not these are safety and compliance, spend administration, or consumer engagement. “If you ask any company what’s most important — cost management, compliance, or usage data, they’re going to say all three.
“If you’re out of compliance or if you’re unsure whether the vendors you’re using have all of the updated documentation on their compliance, that’s probably more critical than cost right now,” he says. “So companies may want to look at a platform that has built its core value proposition around that, and then think about integration to address cost optimization and user engagement,” he says.
Top SaaS administration software program decisions
With many distributors providing standalone SaaS administration, in addition to conventional SAM distributors providing SaaS elements to their choices, corporations ought to have the ability to discover a product that meets their particular wants.
The essential record under focuses on pure-play SaaS administration distributors. Following that, you’ll discover different choices together with conventional SAM distributors which have added SaaS administration options to their current instruments. Choosing a sort of vendor for SaaS administration could finally depend upon whether or not your organization already has a SAM instrument deployed, or should you’re on the lookout for instruments that may handle on-premises functions along with SaaS apps.
We chosen the next merchandise, organized alphabetically, by impartial analysis and discussions with analysts who cowl the market. Inclusion on this record will not be a shopping for suggestion, neither is exclusion an indication to not purchase. Rather, that is meant to be a place to begin that highlights distributors, core options, and distinctive performance for corporations to think about when selecting a SaaS administration system.
HigherCloud: Features of the HigherCloud platform embrace app discovery, file safety, onboarding and offboarding, least-privilege entry, safety compliance, automated workflows, and centralized administration of a number of cases of widespread SaaS functions. The firm provides integrations with greater than 60 completely different SaaS functions, together with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Okta. (See HigherCloud’s safety particulars.)
Blissfully: Blissfully supplies group, automation, and safety capabilities together with SaaS administration, vendor administration, conventional software program asset administration, IT asset administration, vendor and worker workflows, IT automation, entry administration, auditing and proof, and compliance workflows. (See Blissfully’s safety particulars.)
G2 Track: G2 provides a software program market that lets folks analysis, purchase, and handle their software program and providers. The firm just lately launched G2 Track, which helps corporations uncover and handle the functions used at their companies. The providing lets corporations handle their software program and spend, monitor worker utilization traits to achieve worth, management contracts and compliance, and reveal license and finances traits. (See G2 Track’s safety particulars.)
Productiv: This platform makes use of machine studying fashions to find “ungoverned” apps and guarantee compliance, present suggestions for optimizing app spend, and streamline the method for workers to find deployed apps and request new ones. The system can present utilization knowledge on greater than 20,000 apps, together with the spend, licensing, adoption charges, safety, and capabilities. Onboarding and workflow automation for SaaS apps are additionally obtainable. (See Productiv’s safety particulars.)
Stackshine: Features of this platform embrace a subscription calendar to trace previous and future bills; a centralized dashboard for vendor knowledge, contracts, and invoices; alerts of upcoming renewal dates; and safety alerts round compromised distributors and offboarded staff. The vendor additionally provides providers equivalent to vendor discovery and contract negotiation and might run survey campaigns of staff to find favourite and least-liked apps. (Stackshine’s web site doesn’t embrace a safety and compliance web page; contact the seller for encryption, authentication, and compliance particulars.)
Torii: This platform automates the invention, spend optimization, operations, and compliance of SaaS functions throughout a corporation. Spend monitoring consists of vendor and license administration, in addition to chargeback reporting. The system can automate SaaS-related processes for worker lifecycle, it consists of an software catalog, and it supplies particulars on software program utilization. Torii consists of automated threat evaluation and entry management options, together with safety alerts. (See Torii’s safety particulars.)
Trelica: Based within the UK, Trelica automates SaaS discovery to seek out shadow IT installations, optimize app spending, automate IT operations, and interact with finish customers. Engagement knowledge can establish financial savings from unused seats, and renewal negotiation can replicate how a lot staff are utilizing apps. Other options embrace worker onboarding automation, safety and entry threat, and the power to gauge consumer satisfaction. Integrations with id suppliers and SSO apps, finance instruments, and enterprise apps are additionally obtainable. (See Trelica’s safety particulars.)
Zluri: This vendor says its aim is to simplify the world’s transition to SaaS by serving to corporations undertake and function their software program stack by a single clever dashboard. Features of the Zluri platform embrace good software discovery, renewal monitoring, software value optimization, vendor administration, onboarding and offboarding automation, software utilization knowledge, and real-time notifications and studies. (See Zluri’s safety particulars.)
Zylo: This system can uncover functions throughout a corporation, optimize spending and uncover inefficiencies, handle renewals and forecast spending, and guarantee compliance by governance processes. (Zylo’s web site doesn’t embrace a safety and compliance web page; contact the seller for encryption, authentication, and compliance particulars.)
Other instruments, together with SAM, ITSM, and ITAM platforms
Enterprises that need to handle on-premises functions in addition to SaaS apps ought to examine software program asset administration (SAM), IT service administration (ITSM), or IT asset administration (ITAM) choices, lots of that are starting to supply SaaS administration options. Vendors on this house embrace Snow Software, Alloy Software, Flexera, Genuity, ServiceNow, and SailPoint — which addresses the problem by way of its id administration platform.
We additionally found different instruments which will have one or two of the three essential SaaS administration capabilities (discovery, administration, and safety), however don’t at the moment seem like an entire SaaS administration system. Vendors equivalent to Airbase and Vendr, for instance, supply spend administration options.
Other distributors, equivalent to CoreView, Sonar Software, and AvePoint, supply SaaS administration options, however just for particular merchandise like Microsoft 365 or Salesforce.