The advent of the software as a service (SaaS) model has undoubtedly brought along a major paradigm shift in the history of IT — and has become a go-to for many organizations today.
The usage and demand for SaaS have exploded in the last few years. Enterprises, on average, are using hundreds or even thousands of SaaS applications daily. After all, SaaS models offer unquestionable benefits, like increased flexibility, accessibility, cost savings, productivity gains and more.
However, this paradigm shift has resulted in an exponential increase in complexity for IT and security teams. When you think about it, can you even tell the number of SaaS applications your organization uses? Is it 30, 60, 100 or more?
In our latest white paper, “Navigating the Complexity of SaaS Management,” we explain why a modern, comprehensive approach to SaaS management — one that challenges what we think we know about the process — can help. You’ll learn:
- The key SaaS challenges — including shadow SaaS and SaaS spend — and how they impact IT and security teams
- Current approaches to SaaS management — and their limitations
- Why a modern, comprehensive approach to SaaS management can help
The Challenge of SaaS Management
As SaaS adoption continues to skyrocket, getting deeper visibility into SaaS apps within the organization, uncovering the interconnectivity of SaaS apps, understanding security coverage, configuration and controlling SaaS spending have become more critical than ever. Yet, today, these tasks can feel complicated. Impossible, even.
Without SaaS apps getting the proper security and IT review upfront, numerous risks are introduced:
- Data loss: Shadow SaaS can drive unknown attack surface expansion. That’s because shadow SaaS apps have bypassed IT’s typical vetting procedures. These applications are also less likely to be integrated with user-based security processes.
- Compliance: Shadow SaaS also makes organizations vulnerable to non-compliance risks. Regulations like HIPAA and GDPR specify how companies can use, store, or transfer consumer data. SaaS providers that fail to comply with these regulations could cost businesses millions of dollars in fines.
- Increased costs: Beyond security and compliance concerns, shadow SaaS puts strain on business budgets. Spend on shadow SaaS apps may be small in isolation — but at scale, they can drive considerable costs.
While processes for managing SaaS may differ from company to company, technologies have emerged to help teams tackle these challenges in isolation. The challenge? Only point solutions exist to address matters of SaaS management, cost optimization and security. There’s no single comprehensive solution that addresses risk management and business value for SaaS in one place to all stakeholders.
Modern Approach to SaaS Management
SaaS offers tremendous value to organizations, but businesses need an easier path to rein in SaaS complexity. What’s the way forward? Adopting a comprehensive approach to SaaS management that solves IT, security, risk and finance teams’ challenges by giving them a single source of truth into every SaaS application is the answer.
A modern approach to SaaS management enables stakeholders to:
- Discover both known and unknown SaaS applications, providing complete and actionable visibility into all data types and interconnectivity flows
- Uncover and mitigate various security risks that put sensitive customer and business data at risk
- Deliver the insights on user access and app utilization needed for better IT management and cost optimization across all SaaS apps
- Streamline SaaS compliance reporting
A comprehensive SaaS management solution that addresses risk management and business value for SaaS in one place for all stakeholders is imperative for business success.
