Are you wasting money on unused or poorly managed software subscriptions?  Here’s what business leaders need to know about SaaS license management.

SaaS (Software as a Service) has become a go-to solution for organizations of all stripes. Unlike legacy software, these remote-hosted applications are accessed entirely online, which eliminates the need for on-site storage and maintenance. 

This has led SaaS to become the largest public cloud market segment as companies use these tools for efficient and scalable digital transformation. In fact, by some estimates, today’s average SaaS portfolio contains 371 applications. However, using SaaS solutions also requires that companies juggle hundreds of software licenses and subscriptions, the mismanagement of which can significantly undermine the benefits of deployment.  

To harness the power of your company’s SaaS portfolio, you’ll need to get smart about SaaS license management (SLM). Let’s dive into why SLM is so important, how it can benefit your organization, and why partnering with Boston SoftDesign makes SLM implementation easy.  

Why is SaaS license management important? 

SaaS license management consists of developing smart practices, processes, and tools for monitoring and optimizing your various SaaS licenses across their life cycles.

Getting SLM right is no easy task. Because of the sheer number of SaaS applications that modern companies are juggling, poor license management regularly results in overlapping subscriptions, un- or under-used features, license compliance violations, vendor and internal risks, and wasted IT spending. 

We’ve seen firsthand just how challenging SaaS license management can be. A number of organizations, for instance, have reached out after discovering that manually tracking application usage and spending is time-consuming and often fails to improve ROI. 

Others have approached us for help identifying unassigned licenses or SaaS applications that have been assigned by default. We also regularly speak with companies who need assistance with SaaS vendor consolidation and compliance to avoid additional charges for usage overages and unauthorized access.       

What are the benefits of SaaS subscription management?

Unfortunately, many organizations don’t think about software license management until it’s too late. We’ve seen it countless times: CIOs and organizational leaders are regularly unaware of their actual SaaS spend, and when IT teams do try to take stock of SaaS use, they tend to waste days or weeks compiling a vendor list.

At BSD, our SLM solution solves these issues by giving you visibility and control over your cloud-based software usage and spending. For example, BSD’s SaaS subscription management monitors license utilization by scheduling alerts for underutilized, unused, or spare licenses, and new SaaS applications or users. It also allows you to visualize and plan your SaaS use with a dashboard that tracks current vendors, contract terms, run rates, costs, and areas for potential savings—all in just a few clicks.

With features like these, the BSD SLM solution streamlines SaaS license management and provides a host of benefits, including:

Cost savings

BSD’s approach to subscription management allows organizations to reduce spending on unused or underutilized licenses, regardless of whether you’ve opted for a per-user, per-feature, or pay-as-you-go SaaS pricing model.

Improved compliance

Our subscription management software ensures adherence to SaaS licensing terms and reduces legal risks.

Enhanced efficiency

We work with you to automate your SaaS administrative tasks, which saves time and resources in the long run.

Increased visibility

Our teams offer real-time insights into your unique SaaS software usage, needs, and expense management.

Optimized software usage

The BSD SLM platform helps you ensure that your software subscriptions, actual usage, and business needs are all aligned.

Risk reduction

The BSD subscription management tool lowers security risks by identifying and reducing unauthorized software use.

Data-driven decisions

Our SLM solution supports informed decision-making regarding software investments.

Streamlined audits

BSD simplifies the SaaS audit process by providing you with comprehensive, organized, accessible license information.

Scalability

We can easily adjust our approach to SLM so that it meets your changing business needs and scales with your company’s growth.

BSD simplifies SaaS license management

To maximize these benefits, BSD will work closely with you to develop a tailored solution for SaaS license management. This begins by identifying the scope of your organization’s needs, which can be as simple as compiling a list of your SaaS applications. 

From there, you can roll out our SLM solution using pre-built templates for your specific SaaS applications and reporting needs. Of course, BSD can craft a solution based on your in-house or favorite iPaaS, BI, and collaboration platforms (such as MS Teams or Slack). Alternatively, we can propose the best technology stack for your goals or deploy an end-to-end solution powered by BSD’s stack.

And that’s it! The average implementation/deployment takes a couple of weeks, after which we’ll hand your solution over and provide the guidance and training that you’ll need to maintain and manage it.

Interested in learning more about how BSD can take the guesswork out of SaaS license management? Contact us today.