Reduce SaaS Waste Up to 33% With This Cost Optimization Framework

By Alec Woodward and Louay Bachir Right now, cost optimization is king. And while using more SaaS apps is already a component of many general IT cost optimization strategies, how do IT leaders ensure costs are optimized across the SaaS portfolio? We’re hearing it from all directions:

Every contract, every license, and every dollar counts

With budgets tightening, IT leaders need to find effective ways to manage their SaaS costs and maximize app ROI while maintaining business objectives. It’s a road that’s riddled with challenges as:

1. Most SaaS apps aren’t visible to IT
2. Companies have duplicate and redundant apps
3. License usage metrics are unavailable or incomplete
4. Employees don’t use all the apps available to them

Sound familiar? The good news is, with the right tools, you can turn these roadblocks into stepping stones on your path to success. That’s where our new framework comes in. And it’s going to change the way you think about SaaS management.

Introducing the SaaS Intelligence™ Cost Optimization Framework

It’s time to transform your cost optimization initiatives with the power of SaaS Intelligence. Productiv SaaS Intelligence Platform is the only solution that brings together system data with employee usage insights to align business leaders around the truth that matters. Armed with those insights, you can follow this comprehensive framework to continuously optimize costs across your SaaS portfolio. From discovering shadow IT and deduping apps to analyzing usage and proactively approaching renewals, this framework covers all of your high priority use cases — and even some that may not be on your radar yet.

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Your ticket to continuous cost optimization

The 6 steps of the cost optimization cycle

Now that you’ve seen the big picture of the SaaS Intelligence Cost Optimization Framework, let’s dive into some of the use cases you’ll be able to solve at each step. Taking this data-driven approach with unprecedented granularity will help you effectively reduce SaaS waste across your portfolio.

Govern SaaS

Challenges today: Line-of-business (LOB) leaders are often buying SaaS in silos and on an as-needed basis, creating a major visibility gap. In fact, 56% of apps were owned outside of a company’s IT department in 2021. Many also lack an integrated system of record to help mitigate the risks of unmanaged apps. Productiv helps by delivering up to 100% automated app spend discovery.

1. Discover SaaS including shadow IT

Use 100s of out-of-the-box connectors (expenses, payments, network, SSO, and more) to identify existing and new apps, as well as spend not currently tracked.

2. Measure SaaS usage, engagement, and spend

View spend analytics by segments like employee, team, department, location, remote workers, and more.

Rationalize SaaS

Challenges today: Frequently teams purchase different apps that solve the same need or end up purchasing the same app, due to information silos. IT and LOB leaders subsequently make app consolidation decisions with limited insights into impact. Productiv helps by revealing up to 17% portfolio consolidation opportunities.

3. Consolidate SaaS portfolio

Determine apps to consolidate in similar categories via engagement insights and benchmarks.

4. Automate license rightsizing

Remove inactive licenses and downgrade license tiers based on employee app engagement data.

Procure SaaS

Challenges today: With an average of 250 SaaS apps per company, the constant renewals are difficult to manage effectively. Not to mention the slew of intake requests that bog down IT and procurement teams. Today, the decisions to be made and actions to be taken across both of these processes require handfuls of siloed systems, countless meetings, and often lack the necessary data and insights. Productiv helps by enabling up to up to 30% cost savings via benchmarks.

5. Automate data-driven renewals

Automate renewal processes, orchestrate reviews and approvals, and use data and insights for a stronger negotiating position.

6. Automate data-driven intake

Streamline intake requests, understand what peers are paying, and save time when managing and fulfilling requests for new software and services.

Reduce SaaS waste by up to 33% with Productiv

By following the cost optimization framework above, companies have experienced up to 33% reduction in SaaS waste across their app portfolios. Leading companies like Databricks have been able to optimize spend by as much as 35% on key business apps. Also, a global toy manufacturer leveraged SaaS Intelligence insights to identify a discrepancy between provisioned and active users in one app, and avoided spending $950k on unnecessary additional licenses. When your boss starts questioning how the department can reduce waste and better optimize costs, you want to be armed with the right data and able to provide the answers they’re looking for. Discover how SaaS Intelligence is helping companies like yours better optimize SaaS costs and maximize app ROI.

What’s next?

Learn why the future hinges on effective SaaS management. See what has companies wasting up to $40M annually on SaaS. Schedule a demo to learn more about how Productiv SaaS Intelligence Platform enables you to fully optimize your growing SaaS portfolio.