Apr 7, 2023
SaaS Management - Gartner Market Guide for Future Leaders | Talisman's Review
SaaS Management - Gartner Market Guide for Future Leaders | Talisman's Review
SaaS Management - Gartner Market Guide for Future Leaders | Talisman's Review
Are you looking to understand the current state of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Management Platforms and their relevance in the future? Are you curious how they fit into your business goals? This "SaaS Management - Gartner Market Guide for Future Leaders" review from Talisman will give you a comprehensive look at the latest trends and insights in this rapidly evolving landscape.
Key Takeaways on SaaS Management - Gartner Market Guide
The 2022 Market Guide for SaaS Management Platforms (SMPs) from Gartner provides an in-depth understanding of the SaaS Management space.
Regarding the market for SaaS Management, Gartner expects it to keep growing because companies are spending 15-20% more on SaaS every year. On average, companies use over 125 different SaaS applications, which costs $1,040 per employee per year.
Although, the market remains fragmented. Many people mistake it for software asset management (SAM) and security tools for SaaS, such as cloud access security broker (CASB), security service edge (SSE), and SaaS security posture management (SSPM).
The use of SaaS is growing, but it is risky and expensive when not adequately secured and monitored. According to Gartner, up to 25% of provided licenses are only used occasionally by employees. SMP vendors report that up to 50% of licenses go unused.
Moreover, the Gartner Market Guide: SaaS Management Platforms highlights the importance of investing in SMPs to manage the complexity of SaaS environments and gain better visibility and control over SaaS spend.
According to the report, companies that don't manage SaaS life cycles centrally will be five times more likely to experience a cyber incident or data loss due to misconfiguration.
Until 2027, with companies that don't implement proper SaaS Management Gartner predicts that they could end up spending 25% or more on unnecessary and unauthorized licenses. This happens because companies often buy overlapping software tools they don't need.
By 2027, 4 out of 10 companies will adopt a centralized management system to handle their SaaS subscriptions, an increase from under 25% in 2022.
The Capabilities and Benefits of SMPs
As stated in the report for SaaS Management Gartner indicates that the platforms offer a range of capabilities to help companies manage their SaaS environment, including:
Discover – identify authorized and unauthorized usage of SaaS tools and associated costs.
Manage – simplify the management of SaaS applications by centralizing configuration and policy management.
Automate – automate administration with templates, workflow engine, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based actions.
Optimize – surface analysis, insights, alerts, and automation to optimize SaaS licenses and costs.
Protect – provide insights and alerts to optimize license and cost and safeguard companies’ identities and data by ensuring compliance with corporate or regulatory standards.
Govern – report and measure SaaS availability and integration with Information Technology (IT) tools.
Enable – offer an employee-friendly application catalog for easy SaaS requests and helps drive adoption and maximize Return-on-Investment ROI by providing analysis, insights, and alerts.
Compared to other adjacent market tools, Gartner pointed out that SMPs offer numerous advantages, which include:
Better visibility and control over SaaS.
Increased ROI by promoting adoption and optimizing entitlements.
Improved management and decision-making related to SaaS contracts and renewals.
Reduced unauthorized usage through curated store experience.
Simplified onboarding of new employees and SaaS apps and improved off-boarding workflows.
Decreased IT overhead through automation.
Enhanced collaboration among teams involved in the SaaS life cycle.
Market Direction and the Growth of SMP Landscape
The SMP landscape is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, and Gartner estimates that by 2027, more than 50% of companies will use an SMP.
In terms of the demand for SaaS Management Gartner predicts that there will be changes in the next 12 to 18 months. To control the spread of SaaS, there will be stronger partnerships and collaborations across procurement, finance, IT security, applications, and line of business (LOB). As the growth of unmanaged SaaS remains uncontrollable, companies will increase demand and budget for SaaS management to realize the extent of unmanaged SaaS cost, sprawl, and risk. There will be increased use of SMP to monitor SaaS adoption and measure return on strategic SaaS investments. There will also be a growing interest in automating employee onboarding and off-boarding processes, and more proactive management of SaaS renewals and costs will be in demand.
On the supply side, those changes include an increase in SMP vendors who will offer all seven categories of functionality, SAM, SaaS security, and similar vendors expanding their capabilities to become SMPs, and continued investor interest in and contributions to SMPs. Additionally, the base capabilities of SMPs will become less distinct, and there will be an increase in partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions among SMPs and related tool vendors. Finally, there will be an introduction of managed services offerings from SMPs, consulting, and outsourcing vendors to address skills gaps, which is currently not a standard service offered by SMPs.
SaaS Management - Gartner Recommendations & Best Practices
SaaS Management Gartner Recommendations
To effectively manage the life cycle of SaaS with an SMP, Gartner suggests future leaders responsible for SaaS and/or digital workplace management should take the following steps:
Work with procurement, finance, LOB and asset management, IT security, digital workplace, and application leaders to cover all SaaS life cycle phases and maximize ROI.
Conduct research on SMP market dynamics, generally available capabilities, and proven use cases to define achievable requirements.
Develop a well-balanced business case that compares the cost of an SMP and resourcing with smart objectives that align with your organization's strategic value, including clear and agreed-upon measures of objective and subjective (or tangible and intangible) benefits.
5 Best Practices of SaaS Management
Whether you have or are adopting an SMP for your business, we recommend these five best practices to consider:
Develop an effective SaaS policy - A comprehensive policy should be developed to ensure that all stakeholders understand what is expected of them regarding the adoption and use of SaaS applications.
Perform due diligence - Before signing up for a SaaS application, it is vital to perform due diligence to ensure that the application meets your organization's security, compliance, and other requirements.
Monitor usage and costs - Monitor usage and costs associated with SaaS applications on an ongoing basis to guarantee you are getting the most out of your investments.
Make use of automation - Automate as many aspects of SaaS management as possible, such as onboarding, off-boarding, access control, and reporting.
Leverage an SMP - Implement an SMP to automate the discovery, management, and optimization of your organization's cloud applications to increase ROI and reduce the risk associated with unmanaged SaaS sprawl. Join our waitlist today and discover how Talisman can help your business scale better and protect your runway!
The amount of SaaS spend will continue to rise. As the market matures, it is highly recommended to take advantage of an SMP to automate the discovery, management, and optimization of cloud applications. This will help companies maximize ROI and reduce the risk associated with unmanaged SaaS sprawl. Furthermore, companies should work with vendors to address skills gaps and develop a comprehensive policy that outlines expectations for stakeholders when it comes to the adoption and use of SaaS applications.
If you need more help understanding why you should consider using SaaS for your business, check out this video from Hubspot.
Implementing a SaaS Management system is highly recommended whether you are a small to mid-sized startup or unicorn. Join our waitlist today to see how Talisman can help your business be organized and optimized!
Are you looking to understand the current state of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Management Platforms and their relevance in the future? Are you curious how they fit into your business goals? This "SaaS Management - Gartner Market Guide for Future Leaders" review from Talisman will give you a comprehensive look at the latest trends and insights in this rapidly evolving landscape.
Key Takeaways on SaaS Management - Gartner Market Guide
The 2022 Market Guide for SaaS Management Platforms (SMPs) from Gartner provides an in-depth understanding of the SaaS Management space.
Regarding the market for SaaS Management, Gartner expects it to keep growing because companies are spending 15-20% more on SaaS every year. On average, companies use over 125 different SaaS applications, which costs $1,040 per employee per year.
Although, the market remains fragmented. Many people mistake it for software asset management (SAM) and security tools for SaaS, such as cloud access security broker (CASB), security service edge (SSE), and SaaS security posture management (SSPM).
The use of SaaS is growing, but it is risky and expensive when not adequately secured and monitored. According to Gartner, up to 25% of provided licenses are only used occasionally by employees. SMP vendors report that up to 50% of licenses go unused.
Moreover, the Gartner Market Guide: SaaS Management Platforms highlights the importance of investing in SMPs to manage the complexity of SaaS environments and gain better visibility and control over SaaS spend.
According to the report, companies that don't manage SaaS life cycles centrally will be five times more likely to experience a cyber incident or data loss due to misconfiguration.
Until 2027, with companies that don't implement proper SaaS Management Gartner predicts that they could end up spending 25% or more on unnecessary and unauthorized licenses. This happens because companies often buy overlapping software tools they don't need.
By 2027, 4 out of 10 companies will adopt a centralized management system to handle their SaaS subscriptions, an increase from under 25% in 2022.
The Capabilities and Benefits of SMPs
As stated in the report for SaaS Management Gartner indicates that the platforms offer a range of capabilities to help companies manage their SaaS environment, including:
Discover – identify authorized and unauthorized usage of SaaS tools and associated costs.
Manage – simplify the management of SaaS applications by centralizing configuration and policy management.
Automate – automate administration with templates, workflow engine, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based actions.
Optimize – surface analysis, insights, alerts, and automation to optimize SaaS licenses and costs.
Protect – provide insights and alerts to optimize license and cost and safeguard companies’ identities and data by ensuring compliance with corporate or regulatory standards.
Govern – report and measure SaaS availability and integration with Information Technology (IT) tools.
Enable – offer an employee-friendly application catalog for easy SaaS requests and helps drive adoption and maximize Return-on-Investment ROI by providing analysis, insights, and alerts.
Compared to other adjacent market tools, Gartner pointed out that SMPs offer numerous advantages, which include:
Better visibility and control over SaaS.
Increased ROI by promoting adoption and optimizing entitlements.
Improved management and decision-making related to SaaS contracts and renewals.
Reduced unauthorized usage through curated store experience.
Simplified onboarding of new employees and SaaS apps and improved off-boarding workflows.
Decreased IT overhead through automation.
Enhanced collaboration among teams involved in the SaaS life cycle.
Market Direction and the Growth of SMP Landscape
The SMP landscape is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, and Gartner estimates that by 2027, more than 50% of companies will use an SMP.
In terms of the demand for SaaS Management Gartner predicts that there will be changes in the next 12 to 18 months. To control the spread of SaaS, there will be stronger partnerships and collaborations across procurement, finance, IT security, applications, and line of business (LOB). As the growth of unmanaged SaaS remains uncontrollable, companies will increase demand and budget for SaaS management to realize the extent of unmanaged SaaS cost, sprawl, and risk. There will be increased use of SMP to monitor SaaS adoption and measure return on strategic SaaS investments. There will also be a growing interest in automating employee onboarding and off-boarding processes, and more proactive management of SaaS renewals and costs will be in demand.
On the supply side, those changes include an increase in SMP vendors who will offer all seven categories of functionality, SAM, SaaS security, and similar vendors expanding their capabilities to become SMPs, and continued investor interest in and contributions to SMPs. Additionally, the base capabilities of SMPs will become less distinct, and there will be an increase in partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions among SMPs and related tool vendors. Finally, there will be an introduction of managed services offerings from SMPs, consulting, and outsourcing vendors to address skills gaps, which is currently not a standard service offered by SMPs.
SaaS Management - Gartner Recommendations & Best Practices
SaaS Management Gartner Recommendations
To effectively manage the life cycle of SaaS with an SMP, Gartner suggests future leaders responsible for SaaS and/or digital workplace management should take the following steps:
Work with procurement, finance, LOB and asset management, IT security, digital workplace, and application leaders to cover all SaaS life cycle phases and maximize ROI.
Conduct research on SMP market dynamics, generally available capabilities, and proven use cases to define achievable requirements.
Develop a well-balanced business case that compares the cost of an SMP and resourcing with smart objectives that align with your organization's strategic value, including clear and agreed-upon measures of objective and subjective (or tangible and intangible) benefits.
5 Best Practices of SaaS Management
Whether you have or are adopting an SMP for your business, we recommend these five best practices to consider:
Develop an effective SaaS policy - A comprehensive policy should be developed to ensure that all stakeholders understand what is expected of them regarding the adoption and use of SaaS applications.
Perform due diligence - Before signing up for a SaaS application, it is vital to perform due diligence to ensure that the application meets your organization's security, compliance, and other requirements.
Monitor usage and costs - Monitor usage and costs associated with SaaS applications on an ongoing basis to guarantee you are getting the most out of your investments.
Make use of automation - Automate as many aspects of SaaS management as possible, such as onboarding, off-boarding, access control, and reporting.
Leverage an SMP - Implement an SMP to automate the discovery, management, and optimization of your organization's cloud applications to increase ROI and reduce the risk associated with unmanaged SaaS sprawl. Join our waitlist today and discover how Talisman can help your business scale better and protect your runway!
The amount of SaaS spend will continue to rise. As the market matures, it is highly recommended to take advantage of an SMP to automate the discovery, management, and optimization of cloud applications. This will help companies maximize ROI and reduce the risk associated with unmanaged SaaS sprawl. Furthermore, companies should work with vendors to address skills gaps and develop a comprehensive policy that outlines expectations for stakeholders when it comes to the adoption and use of SaaS applications.
If you need more help understanding why you should consider using SaaS for your business, check out this video from Hubspot.
Implementing a SaaS Management system is highly recommended whether you are a small to mid-sized startup or unicorn. Join our waitlist today to see how Talisman can help your business be organized and optimized!