What do SaaS management platforms do?
SaaS management platforms serve as a system of record and central administration console for a business’s SaaS ecosystem.
SaaS Management Platforms
Best SaaS Management Platforms include:
BetterCloud, Cloud Management for Microsoft 365, powered by AvePoint Cloud, ShareGate, Blissfully, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SaaS (formerly Aperture), Zylo, CloudM, and SysKit Point.
SaaS Management Platforms Overview
What are SaaS Management Platforms?
SaaS management platforms help businesses proactively identify and manage all of the SaaS applications used in the business. They provide a centralized pane of glass for managing and reporting on SaaS sprawl that has become a norm, especially among enterprises.
SaaS management platforms primarily serve as a singular system of record for what SaaS applications are used across an organization, with mechanisms for proactively or automatically identifying which applications are in play. Beyond this ability, SaaS management platforms often focus on managing either the spend or operations of SaaS applications, with many products expanding to cover both areas.
SaaS spending management usually entails elements of license management, contract renewal management, and SaaS budget visibility and reporting. SaaS operations management entails administering user access controls for SaaS apps, monitoring SaaS onboarding, adoption, and offboarding.
There are several main benefits behind SaaS management platforms. Many businesses will save on costs by identifying and trimming unnecessary or inefficient SaaS spending, such as different business units using multiple collaboration or web conferencing products simultaneously. It also allows for more efficient employee onboarding and offboarding. The former allows new employees to spend less time ramping up, and the latter minimizes security risks when an employee leaves the company. There are other security benefits from improved visibility into the business’s SaaS ecosystem, particularly shadow IT.
Shadow IT Management
SaaS management platforms also enable organizations to gain crucial visibility into the org’s shadow IT. Shadow IT occurs when applications and systems are bought or built without IT or other administrative authority’s knowledge and approval.
Shadow IT isn’t bad by default. Decentralized purchasing and adopting can be more efficient and is often inevitable in larger organizations. SaaS management platforms can allow such decentralization to continue while also giving IT better visibility into the efficiency and security risks associated with the organization’s shadow IT.
SaaS Management Platforms Features
All SaaS management platforms should facilitate either the operations of or spending on the business’s SaaS applications. While the specific features offered may vary, SaaS management platforms should be able to deliver most or all of the following capabilities:
SaaS application discovery
Manage and report on SaaS budget
SaaS license and renewal management
SaaS onboarding/adoption metrics
SaaS data security and compliance
SaaS administrative control over SaaS access
SaaS applications security management
SaaS Management Platforms Comparison
There are some factors to consider when comparing SaaS management platforms:
Catalogs of known SaaS: All SaaS management platforms will be able to identify the most popular applications, such as Google Workspace. Are there more niche applications or SaaS systems that the organization uses, or that may be present in the org’s shadow IT? This is most common among industry-specific SaaS apps, in which case buyers should check platforms’ coverage of products tailored to their industry.
Spend management vs. ops management: Consider whether the organization is more focused on improving operational efficiency or trimming excessive spending associated with SaaS sprawl. While many products can address both issues, they do so to varying degrees, and there are some point solutions that exclusively focus on one or the other. Buyers should choose a product with capabilities that align best with their unique SaaS management needs.
Security features: Security capabilities are still a developing feature set for many SaaS management platforms. Their ability to identify security risks in SaaS ecosystems and remediate the risks, in addition to securing specific activities like employee offboarding, will vary drastically across products, and will continue to shift in the near future.
Start a SaaS management platform comparison
Pricing Information
Pricing will depend primarily on what specific features are purchased. Implementation and deployment support will also frequently increase costs. Some vendors also scale pricing by the amount of SaaS spending that will be managed, starting at a free version for less than $1,000 in monthly SaaS spending in some cases.
SaaS Management Products
(1-25 of 31) Sorted by Most Reviews
BetterCloud is a SaaS Management Platform (SMP) that enables IT professionals to discover, manage, and secure their cloud applications. With BetterCloud, users can: Uncover Security Threats & Increase Controls – Proactively mitigate security risks through automated granular policy…
The SailPoint Identity Platform (IdentityIQ) provides enterprise-level cloud-based or installed identity and access management (IAM) software featuring single sign-on (SSO), password management, provisioning, role management, and identity intelligence for audit purposes.
Blissfully is a complete SaaS management platform. It aims to give companies the visibility and tools needed to manage vendors, simplify IT operations, maintain compliance, and optimize spending.
Cloudability is a cloud cost management platform for cloud cost control developed the company of the same name in Portland, acquired and now supported by Apptio (May 2019). The Cloudability also includes additional products, Cloudability Shift to support migration to cloud, and the…
Certero for Cloud is a cloud asset management application providing full visibility of cloud applications and designed to optimize cloud asset usage and reduce wasted spend. Certero for Cloud has two modules to manage the major Cloud IaaS / PaaS vendors in Azure and AWS. Certero…
Quest Software's On Demand Audit is a SaaS management tool that allows users to streamline security, compliance & change auditing for hybrid Microsoft environments.
Ampliphae headquartered in Belfast aims to give IT Management an easy-to-deploy, sophisticated and affordable cloud discovery and management platform, so users can monitor cloud usage to minimise risks, maximise business benefit and ensure compliance. SaaSGuard is their SaaS Management…
The Nova Management Platform, from Quadrotech, consists of integrated components and services that work together to provide deeper operational visibility and control of Microsoft Office 365 environments, while removing a significant load from IT through sophisticated automation, reporting,…
Substly provides a businesses a subscription usage overview that aims to save money and effort Subscription-based business models were created to make users spend more. And there is a reason that most vendors move toward that type of business model – it works! Substly helps companies…
CoreView is a provider of Microsoft 365 management for large enterprises. They help IT and Security teams manage, secure and optimize licenses for more than 5 million M365 users worldwide. CoreView’s powerful CoreSuite solution imports data from every nook and cranny of an organization'…
Riverbed's cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) acceleration service is purpose-built to ensure consistent performance of SaaS applications for anyone, anywhere, regardless of distance. A key pillar of the Riverbed Application Performance Platform , SaaS Accelerator offers…
For managing assets, vendor spend, usage and contracts to strategic sourcing and spend analysis, Genuity is a Technology Business Management platform designed to enable teams to spend smarter and maximize the value of every dollar a business spends. Genuity builds tools to help businesses…
365 Command, from Kaseya, is an Office 365 Migration & Management solution, for migrating, managing, and administering Microsoft Office 365 application suite. 365 Command aims to give the power to make migration and management easy, with purpose built tools made to work with you…
SysKit Point is a Automated Office 365 Governance and Security tool, from SysKit in Zagreb. It is designed to enable users to get a full overview of an Office 365 environment and ownership across Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, Office 365 Groups, and OneDrive in a central web…
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of SaaS management platforms are there?
The two most common SaaS management platform types are SaaS spend management and SaaS operations management. Many platforms now include some elements of both.
Who uses SaaS management platforms?
Platforms are most common among enterprises, and their IT departments usually own and manage the platform itself.
What is “shadow IT”?
Shadow IT is the sum of unauthorized SaaS applications and systems that individuals or business units purchase or adopt. While this decentralized adoption can be efficient, SaaS management platforms can help mitigate its inefficiencies and security risks.
What are the benefits of SaaS management platforms?
SaaS management platforms can save businesses money on redundant SaaS applications and save time managing disparate systems.