SaaS management strategies to maximize the ROI of your SaaS tools
- What is SaaS management?
- Why is SaaS management important?
- Key challenges in SaaS management
- Best practices for SaaS management
- Best SaaS management platforms
- SaaS spend optimization
- SaaS security risks
- Advanced metrics and KPIs for SaaS management
- Simplify SaaS management with Ramp
Managing SaaS applications allows your business to streamline operations, reduce costs, and stay secure. As companies increasingly rely on a SaaS ecosystem, managing SaaS apps and subscriptions has become crucial for optimizing spend, improving security, and measuring return on investment (ROI).
What is SaaS management?
SaaS management involves overseeing the entire lifecycle of SaaS subscriptions, including procurement, onboarding, usage data tracking, and off-boarding. By centralizing all SaaS apps in one place, you can achieve complete visibility into your SaaS portfolio. This helps your IT teams manage SaaS spend, track SaaS usage, and ensure proper license management.
SaaS management platforms (SMPs) provide the tools necessary to optimize these processes.
Why is SaaS management important?
Effective SaaS management is crucial for:
- Reducing SaaS sprawl: Uncontrolled growth of SaaS applications can result in inefficiencies and higher costs
- Enhancing security: With more apps come more security risks, which can expose businesses to data breaches or compliance issues
- Maximizing ROI: By optimizing SaaS spend and ensuring tools are being used effectively, you can get the most out of your SaaS investments
Key challenges in SaaS management
Term | Description |
|---|---|
SaaS sprawl | SaaS sprawl occurs as companies scale when you add multiple SaaS apps without a centralized system to track them. This leads to wasted subscriptions and unused licenses. |
Shadow IT | Shadow IT refers to employees using unsanctioned apps, which can create significant security risks and make it harder to ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR. |
Security risks | As businesses use more cloud-based SaaS tools, they face an increased risk of data breaches. Ensuring proper user access management, including the use of SSO (single sign-on), is vital to securing data. |
Best practices for SaaS management
It's important to follow best practices that help optimize usage, control costs, and mitigate security risks. By implementing strategies like real-time tracking, automating renewal processes, and centralizing procurement, you can ensure your SaaS applications deliver maximum value:
1. Track SaaS usage in real time
Tracking SaaS usage in real time provides valuable insights into which apps are underutilized or overused. By analyzing usage patterns, you can identify unused licenses and eliminate waste. This helps rightsize SaaS licenses and optimize software spend.
2. Automate renewals and offboarding
Automating renewals and offboarding processes helps you make sure you don’t pay for subscriptions you don’t need. Set up reminders for renewal dates and automatically revoke access to SaaS apps once an employee leaves the company. This helps prevent SaaS sprawl and improves security.
3. Streamline procurement and vendor management
Centralizing procurement and vendor management through SaaS management tools helps streamline purchasing decisions. This saves time and ensures you only pay for what you need. SaaS management platforms can also help you track pricing changes and manage contract renewals more effectively.
Best SaaS management platforms
To gain complete visibility into your SaaS stack, you must choose the right SMP. With so many options available, it can be challenging to determine which platform best suits your needs.
Platform | Key Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|
Ramp | Real-time SaaS usage tracking, cost savings optimization, automated renewals, license management | Companies seeking to streamline SaaS spend management, optimize SaaS licenses, and reduce SaaS costs |
Zylo | Advanced SaaS spend management, vendor tracking, SaaS discovery, cost optimization | Large enterprises managing a complex SaaS portfolio across departments and regions |
Zluri | SaaS discovery, automated onboarding, integration with tech stack, usage data analysis | Mid-market businesses looking for SaaS lifecycle management and IT integrations |
Each platform offers unique capabilities to help businesses optimize SaaS spend, improve security, and streamline SaaS management processes. Here are the key features and benefits of each:
1. Ramp
Ramp offers a real-time dashboard that allows businesses to track SaaS usage and SaaS spend across all SaaS apps. The platform focuses on cost savings optimization, helping you reduce unnecessary SaaS subscriptions by eliminating unused licenses and automating renewal dates. Additionally, Ramp provides SaaS license management, enabling you to rightsize their SaaS stack and avoid overspending.
Best for: Ramp is ideal for companies seeking to streamline SaaS spend management, monitor SaaS usage, and reduce SaaS costs. It’s particularly useful for organizations with a large number of subscriptions that need to control expenses across a SaaS ecosystem.
2. Zylo
Zylo is designed for large enterprises that require advanced SaaS spend management. It helps organizations track vendor relationships, manage SaaS portfolios, and gain insights into SaaS usage patterns. It supports SaaS discovery, allowing businesses to find and evaluate the SaaS apps being used within the organization, even if they were purchased by individual departments.
Best for: Zylo is best for enterprise-level companies with diverse SaaS applications across various teams or regions. It’s especially useful for businesses needing to track cost savings, manage renewals, and ensure compliance with contracts.
3. Zluri
Zluri excels at SaaS lifecycle management, providing SaaS discovery and usage tracking to optimize your SaaS portfolio. It integrates with major business platforms such as Salesforce, Microsoft, and other key parts of your tech stack. Zluri also provides automated onboarding for new employees, ensuring seamless access management and compliance.
Best for: Zluri is ideal for mid-market businesses that need comprehensive SaaS lifecycle management, IT integrations, and easy SaaS onboarding.
SaaS spend optimization
Effectively managing SaaS spend is one of the primary benefits of an SMP. Without proper oversight, companies often fall victim to maverick spend. That’s where teams purchase SaaS applications independently, leading to unnecessary costs and inefficiencies. By optimizing your SaaS spend, you can reduce zombie spend and free up budget for other strategic initiatives.
Rightsize your licenses
One of the easiest ways to reduce SaaS costs is by rightsizing your licenses. This involves assessing the number of users on each platform and ensuring you only pay for the licenses that are being actively used. By regularly reviewing SaaS usage, you can eliminate unused licenses and adjust the number of users according to actual demand.
Negotiate subscription renewals
Contract renewals present an opportunity for vendor negotiation and better terms. Vendors often offer discounts or promotional pricing as renewals approach. With visibility into your SaaS spend and usage data, you can present a solid case for reducing costs at renewal time. You can also explore alternative pricing models, such as pay-per-use or tiered pricing, to better align with your company's needs.
Bundle your SaaS apps
Instead of subscribing to multiple separate tools, look for opportunities to bundle apps that offer similar features. Many SaaS providers offer multi-product bundles at a discounted rate. By consolidating purchases, you can benefit from volume pricing and simplify your SaaS procurement process.
Automate spending decisions
With automation tools, you can set thresholds for SaaS spend and automate decisions such as suspending unused subscriptions, upgrading or downgrading plans, and allocating resources to the most critical apps. This minimizes human error and ensures that you stay within budget.
SaaS security risks
As more companies integrate SaaS applications into their workflow, the security risks increase. With sensitive company and customer data stored on third-party platforms, ensuring SaaS security has never been more important. Here’s how to manage security risks and protect your organization from breaches.
Security Measure | Description |
|---|---|
User access management | Control over user access is one of the most crucial components of SaaS security. Implementing Single Sign-On (SSO) across your SaaS apps can help centralize login processes and reduce the risk of unauthorized access. Make sure to regularly review user permissions to ensure that only the right people have access to sensitive information. |
Data encryption | Ensure that your SaaS providers are using robust data encryption protocols, both in transit and at rest. Data breaches can have severe consequences, especially if customer or financial data is compromised. Choosing providers who meet industry standards, such as GDPR or SOC 2, can help mitigate risks. |
Monitor for data breaches | Constantly monitor for data breaches or any signs of suspicious activity within your SaaS ecosystem. Many SaaS management platforms offer tools that can alert you to abnormal access patterns or potential vulnerabilities. By actively monitoring usage, you can catch issues before they escalate. |
Compliance and security standards | Ensure that your SaaS applications comply with relevant regulations and security standards. This includes GDPR, HIPAA, or other industry-specific requirements. Regular audits and penetration testing can help identify potential gaps in your security infrastructure and ensure compliance. |
Advanced metrics and KPIs for SaaS management
Measuring the effectiveness of SaaS management goes beyond tracking subscriptions and licenses. To truly optimize your SaaS investments, track advanced metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that reveal how well your tools are working and whether you're getting value for your spend.
SaaS spend per user
A valuable metric to track is the cost per user of each SaaS application. This will give you a sense of whether you’re paying too much for each user. By calculating the cost per user, you can identify apps with disproportionately high costs for their usage and consider alternatives or rightsizing the plan.
Time to value (TTV)
TTV measures how quickly your business gains value from a SaaS application after implementation. By tracking TTV, you can determine if an app is delivering value at the rate you expected. Longer-than-expected TTV may indicate inefficiencies or underutilization, signaling the need for training or process adjustments.
Churn rate
The churn rate is the percentage of users who stop using a SaaS application over a given period. A high churn rate can signal poor user adoption, insufficient training, or a mismatch between the app and business needs. Tracking churn helps you determine whether it’s time to switch tools or make improvements to your current SaaS offerings.
Feature adoption rate
This metric tracks how often users are engaging with specific features within your SaaS tools. A low adoption rate may indicate that certain features are underutilized or that users are unaware of their existence. By measuring feature adoption, you can ensure that your SaaS apps provide maximum value.
ROI
ROI for SaaS is calculated by comparing the value generated from a tool (e.g., increased productivity, cost savings, improved customer satisfaction) against the costs of the subscription. This can help you assess whether the tool is worth the investment and identify opportunities to improve SaaS spend management.
Simplify SaaS management with Ramp
Effectively managing your SaaS portfolio is essential for controlling costs, improving security, and maximizing ROI. By using the right SaaS management tools, you can streamline SaaS spend, optimize subscriptions, and ensure that your organization is getting the most value from every app.
Ramp’s procurement solutions help you centralize and control your SaaS purchases, making it easier to manage subscriptions in real time. With features that automate renewals and vendor management, Ramp empowers your team to make smarter decisions and save on unnecessary expenses.
Explore how Ramp Procurement can help you optimize your SaaS portfolio and simplify the procurement process.
Don't miss these
“When our teams need something, they usually need it right away. The more time we can save doing all those tedious tasks, the more time we can dedicate to supporting our student-athletes.”
Sarah Harris
Secretary, The University of Tennessee Athletics Foundation, Inc.
“Ramp had everything we were looking for, and even things we weren't looking for. The policy aspects, that's something I never even dreamed of that a purchasing card program could handle.”
Doug Volesky
Director of Finance, City of Mount Vernon
“Switching from Brex to Ramp wasn’t just a platform swap—it was a strategic upgrade that aligned with our mission to be agile, efficient, and financially savvy.”
Lily Liu
CEO, Piñata
“With Ramp, everything lives in one place. You can click into a vendor and see every transaction, invoice, and contract. That didn’t exist in Zip. It’s made approvals much faster because decision-makers aren’t chasing down information—they have it all at their fingertips.”
Ryan Williams
Manager, Contract and Vendor Management, Advisor360°
“The ability to create flexible parameters, such as allowing bookings up to 25% above market rate, has been really good for us. Plus, having all the information within the same platform is really valuable.”
Caroline Hill
Assistant Controller, Sana Benefits
“More vendors are allowing for discounts now, because they’re seeing the quick payment. That started with Ramp—getting everyone paid on time. We’ll get a 1-2% discount for paying early. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you’re dealing with hundreds of millions of dollars, it does add up.”
James Hardy
CFO, SAM Construction Group
“We’ve simplified our workflows while improving accuracy, and we are faster in closing with the help of automation. We could not have achieved this without the solutions Ramp brought to the table.”
Kaustubh Khandelwal
VP of Finance, Poshmark
“I was shocked at how easy it was to set up Ramp and get our end users to adopt it. Our prior procurement platform took six months to implement, and it was a lot of labor. Ramp was so easy it was almost scary.”
Michael Natsch
Procurement Manager, AIRCO
