When it comes to managing your SaaS applications effectively, having the right tools in place is crucial. As a business owner or part of a procurement team, it’s important to choose a SaaS management platform that offers the key features necessary for streamlined operations. The Cotton Gin, a leading provider of SaaS management solutions, has identified the following 7 key features to look for:
- SaaS System of Record: A centralized platform that provides comprehensive visibility into your entire SaaS stack. This feature allows you to track all your software licenses, monitor usage, and identify any unused licenses, enabling informed decisions about renewals and adoption rates.
- Application Discovery: An automated solution that scans your network and identifies all installed SaaS applications. This feature provides a clear understanding of your tech stack and helps you manage potential security and compliance issues.
- Usage Tracking: Detailed insights into actual usage of your SaaS applications. This feature allows you to track metrics such as user activity and engagement, providing valuable data for making data-driven decisions about your software portfolio.
- Insights into SaaS Renewals: A proactive approach to managing renewals. This feature provides real-time insights into upcoming renewals, allowing you to plan ahead, negotiate pricing, and prioritize subscriptions based on your business goals.
- Easy Cancellation/Downgrade: A user-friendly interface that simplifies the process of canceling or downgrading a subscription. This feature saves time and ensures that you are not paying for unnecessary or underutilized software.
By selecting a SaaS management platform that offers these key features, businesses are equipped to make informed decisions, optimize their SaaS usage, and effectively manage their software portfolio. The Cotton Gin’s comprehensive solution provides business owners and procurement teams with the necessary tools to achieve their SaaS management goals.
Introduction
Managing SaaS applications has become a critical aspect for businesses, and it is imperative to have the right tools in place. The key to effective management lies in choosing a SaaS management platform that offers comprehensive features to streamline operations. This article explores the key features that business owners and procurement teams should look for in a SaaS management solution. These features include a centralized platform for comprehensive visibility into the entire SaaS stack, automated application discovery for security and compliance, detailed usage tracking for data-driven decisions, insights into SaaS renewals for proactive planning, and an easy cancellation/downgrade process to optimize software subscriptions. By finding a platform that encompasses these essential features, businesses can make informed decisions, enhance efficiency, and drive success with their SaaS applications.
Context: Why Does SaaS Need to be Managed?
SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) has become the go-to model for many organizations to access and utilize software applications. While SaaS offers numerous benefits, it also brings along some management challenges that need to be addressed.
One of the key issues organizations face is the problem of unused licenses. With multiple software subscriptions, many companies struggle to keep track of which licenses are actually being utilized and which are sitting idle. This leads to wasted resources and unnecessary expenses.
Another challenge is the emergence of shadow IT, where employees bypass official channels and procure their own SaaS applications. This creates a lack of control and visibility for IT teams, making it difficult to manage and secure the organization’s software environment effectively.
Difficult cancellations are also a concern. When organizations want to discontinue a particular SaaS subscription, they often face obstacles such as unclear cancellation terms, automatic renewals, and complex contract negotiations. This can result in financial waste and frustration for businesses.
Additionally, security and compliance issues are of utmost importance when it comes to SaaS management. As organizations increasingly rely on cloud-based software, ensuring data security and maintaining compliance with regulations becomes crucial.
Efficient SaaS management is essential to overcome these challenges and maximize the benefits of the SaaS model. As the adoption of SaaS continues to rise, organizations need comprehensive visibility into their software usage, streamlined processes for managing licenses and subscriptions, and the ability to make data-driven decisions. By implementing robust SaaS management practices, businesses can effectively control costs, improve security, and optimize their software environment.
1. SaaS System of Record
A SaaS System of Record plays a vital role in effective SaaS management for organizations. It serves as a centralized platform that provides complete visibility and tracking of various aspects of SaaS applications, licenses, vendors, users, and compliance data.
Having a SaaS System of Record allows businesses to gain comprehensive visibility into their entire SaaS stack. This visibility enables organizations to accurately track and manage their software assets, ensuring that no licenses go unused and no unnecessary expenses are incurred. By having a centralized platform to monitor all SaaS applications, businesses can make informed decisions regarding usage and renewals, leading to cost savings and optimized resources.
Moreover, a SaaS System of Record simplifies the management of vendors and contracts. It allows businesses to keep track of important contract details, such as renewal dates and terms, ensuring that organizations do not face any difficulties or surprises at the time of contract negotiations. This reduces the risk of financial waste and frustration often associated with complicated cancellations and automatic renewals.
Furthermore, the centralized nature of a SaaS System of Record enables organizations to maintain compliance with regulations and security standards. By having access to real-time insights and data on applications, users, and vendors, businesses can proactively address any security or compliance issues that may arise, minimizing potential risks.
In summary, a SaaS System of Record provides the necessary visibility, tracking, and centralized platform for effective SaaS management. It allows businesses to make informed decisions, optimize resources, streamline vendor management, and ensure compliance with security and regulatory requirements.
2. Application Discovery
Application discovery plays a crucial role in managing SaaS (Software as a Service) and providing comprehensive visibility into an organization’s SaaS stack. It involves identifying and tracking all the SaaS applications being used within the organization, regardless of whether they have been officially sanctioned by IT or not.
Having a comprehensive view of all the applications being used enables businesses to assess their needs accurately. It allows them to understand which applications are essential for their operations and which ones may be redundant or underutilized. This information empowers businesses to make informed decisions about their SaaS portfolio, determining which applications should be continued, which ones may need to be replaced, and which new ones could bring value to their operations.
Furthermore, application discovery enables organizations to optimize their SaaS portfolio by identifying opportunities for consolidation or renegotiating contracts for better pricing. It helps businesses avoid unnecessary expenses by identifying unused licenses or subscriptions that can be eliminated or reassigned.
In terms of security, application discovery helps organizations identify potential vulnerabilities in their SaaS applications. By having a comprehensive view of all the applications being used, businesses can ensure that strong identity and access management controls are in place. They can enforce secure authentication mechanisms and implement appropriate security measures to protect sensitive data and prevent unauthorized access.
In conclusion, application discovery provides comprehensive visibility into an organization’s SaaS stack, allowing businesses to assess needs, make informed decisions, optimize their SaaS portfolio, and address security aspects to protect their data and systems effectively.
3. Usage Tracking
Usage tracking is a crucial feature of SaaS management tools as it allows businesses to monitor user behavior, track feature adoption, and make informed decisions about software downgrades or switches. By tracking how users are engaging with SaaS applications, businesses can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their software and identify areas for improvement.
One key insight provided by usage tracking is onboarding completion rates. This metric helps businesses understand how successfully users are navigating and adopting new software. By monitoring onboarding completion rates, businesses can identify any issues or bottlenecks in the onboarding process and make necessary improvements to ensure a smooth transition for new users.
Additionally, usage tracking provides valuable data on renewals and upgrades. Businesses can track how frequently software is being renewed or upgraded, allowing them to assess the satisfaction and value that users are getting from the application. This information can inform decisions about renewing contracts or exploring alternative software options.
Usage tracking also provides insights into revenue generation. By monitoring usage patterns and feature adoption, businesses can identify which aspects of the software are most valuable to users and potentially monetize those features or create upsell opportunities.
Furthermore, usage tracking can provide valuable audience demographics. By tracking user behavior, businesses can gain insights into who their target audience is, their preferences, and their usage patterns across different platforms.
To effectively track user behavior across all platforms, businesses need a SaaS management tool that can provide comprehensive visibility into web, mobile, and desktop apps. This ensures that businesses have access to accurate and holistic usage data, allowing them to make data-driven decisions about their software usage, upgrades, and downsizing.
4. Insights into SaaS Renewals
Having insights into SaaS renewals is crucial for businesses to effectively manage their expenses and optimize their software investments. A good SaaS management tool provides a comprehensive overview of upcoming renewals, enabling businesses to make informed decisions about their software subscriptions.
By leveraging this feature, businesses can identify software that is no longer being used or underutilized. This allows them to proactively cancel or downgrade unused software before incurring additional expenses. Without this insight, businesses may continue paying for software that is not providing value or meeting their needs.
This feature offers several key benefits. Firstly, it helps businesses optimize their software expenses by avoiding unnecessary renewals. By identifying and canceling unused software, businesses can significantly reduce their costs and allocate resources more efficiently.
Secondly, it increases efficiency by streamlining the software management process. The overview of upcoming renewals allows businesses to proactively plan for contract negotiations, ensuring sufficient time for vendor discussions and exploring alternative solutions if needed. This avoids any last-minute surprises or rushed decisions.
In conclusion, having insights into SaaS renewals through a reliable SaaS management tool is vital for businesses to effectively manage their expenses. It provides a clear overview of upcoming renewals, enabling proactive cancellation or downgrade of unused software. By optimizing costs and increasing efficiency, businesses can make informed decisions that align with their budgetary goals and overall business strategy.
5. Easy Cancellation/Downgrade
Easy cancellation and downgrade processes are essential features of SaaS management tools. These features simplify the identification of unused software and make it easy for businesses to cancel or downgrade unused licenses, resulting in significant cost savings and better resource allocation.
With the ability to easily cancel or downgrade unused software, businesses can avoid paying for licenses that are not providing value or meeting their needs. This allows them to optimize their software expenses and allocate resources more efficiently towards software that is actively used and delivers value.
A good SaaS management tool should provide a centralized platform where businesses can effortlessly identify unused software and initiate the cancellation or downgrade process. This simplifies the management of software licenses and streamlines the overall software management process.
Without a SaaS management tool, navigating the cancellation process for each product individually can be time-consuming and challenging. Businesses have to search for contact information, communicate with vendors, and follow specific cancellation procedures. This not only consumes valuable time but also increases the risk of missing cancellation deadlines or encountering difficulties during the cancellation process.
By having an easy cancellation and downgrade process within a SaaS management tool, businesses can eliminate the hassle of dealing with each product separately. They can have a comprehensive view of their software licenses and effortlessly cancel or downgrade unused licenses with just a few clicks, saving time and ensuring that they are not paying for unnecessary software.
In conclusion, easy cancellation and downgrade processes are crucial features of SaaS management tools. They simplify the identification of unused software and make it easy for businesses to cancel or downgrade unused licenses, resulting in cost savings, efficient resource allocation, and a streamlined software management process.
6. Easy Payments
Easy payments are a crucial feature in SaaS management tools as they simplify the payment process for software renewals and upgrades. With the ability to seamlessly handle payments within the tool, businesses can avoid the hassle of navigating separate payment systems or dealing with multiple invoices.
A good SaaS management tool should offer a user-friendly interface that allows businesses to easily view and manage their payment history, upcoming renewals, and upgrade options. This eliminates the need for manual tracking or relying on external reminders, ensuring that payments are made on time and crucial software licenses are not inadvertently allowed to lapse.
In addition to streamlining the payment process, a SaaS management tool should also have invoicing and reporting capabilities. This enables businesses to generate and customize invoices for easy reconciliation and financial reporting. By providing detailed and accurate reports, businesses can gain insights into their software expenses and make informed decisions regarding future investments and cost optimization.
Furthermore, a SaaS management tool should offer multiple payment gateway choices to cater to various payment preferences. It should also prioritize PCI compliance to ensure the secure processing of credit card payments, protecting sensitive financial information from unauthorized access.
In summary, easy payments within a SaaS management tool simplify the software renewal and upgrade process, streamline financial operations with invoicing and reporting capabilities, and offer secure payment processing options for enhanced data protection.
7. Top-Shelf Security
Top-Shelf Security: Protecting Your SaaS Management Tools and Data
When it comes to SaaS management tools, security should be a top priority for businesses. With sensitive data and critical software licenses at stake, it is crucial to choose a tool that offers top-shelf security measures to safeguard your information. Here are key features to look for:
- Regular Penetration Tests: A reliable SaaS management tool should undergo regular penetration tests to identify and address any vulnerabilities in its infrastructure. By simulating real-world attacks, these tests ensure that your tool is fortified against potential threats, keeping your data and software licenses secure.
- Compliance Checks and Certifications: Look for a tool that conducts compliance checks and holds certifications to ensure maximum security. Compliance with industry standards such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR demonstrates the tool’s commitment to maintaining robust security practices.
- Zombie User Identification and Offboarding: A great security feature is the ability to identify and offboard “zombie users” – inactive accounts that may pose security risks. By cancelling licenses and removing unnecessary access, you can prevent unauthorized users from exploiting dormant accounts.
- Software License Cancellation: A secure SaaS management tool should have the capability to cancel licenses for non-compliant software. This ensures that your organization only uses authorized and safe applications, reducing the risk of security breaches.
By carefully considering these security features, businesses can confidently select a SaaS management tool that prioritizes the protection of their data and software licenses, giving them peace of mind and allowing them to focus on their core operations.
Making the Choice of SaaS Management Tools
When it comes to making the choice of SaaS management tools, there are several factors that businesses need to consider. The first step is to identify the specific problems that need to be solved and the goals that the tool should help achieve. This could include gaining control over SaaS spending, improving security measures, enhancing compliance, or optimizing software license usage.
To gain control over SaaS spending, businesses should look for features that provide comprehensive visibility into their SaaS stack. This includes the ability to track and analyze actual usage of SaaS applications, identify unused licenses, and make data-driven decisions about subscription management and contract renewals. A centralized platform that integrates with other tools and provides actionable insights can greatly assist in managing SaaS expenses efficiently.
Key Subscriptions is a SaaS management platform that offers a wide range of features to help businesses gain control over their SaaS spending. With its comprehensive visibility, real-time insights, and customizable reports, Key Subscriptions enables informed decision-making and helps businesses optimize their SaaS operations.
