SaaS Application Rationalization is the process of identifying, evaluating, consolidating, and optimizing the use of cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools and systems in use throughout an organization.
While the commercial proliferation of SaaS enterprise applications enabled incredible innovations in the way software applications were designed and delivered, which in turn enabled incredible innovations in business models and processes, this growth turned out to be a double-edged sword.
The economics of SaaS applications and the ease in which they could be procured outside of the watchful eye of a centralized technology organization created an environment where teams and business units began circumventing IT to buy software directly from external SaaS providers when they felt their needs were not being sufficiently met internally.
After nearly two decades of explosive growth in infrastructure and applications delivered in the cloud, what we see in hindsight is a digital landscape littered by SaaS Sprawl for as far as the eye can see. Zombie applications that the organization paid for but never implemented. Multiple contracts with the same vendor with wildly different terms. Upcoming renewals that nobody knows about because the alerts go to someone who left the organization.
Tackling SaaS Sprawl is not a technology problem exclusively, and requires input from teams and functions across the organization. This naturally creates an opportunity to deepen internal stakeholder relationships and better align technology and business strategies through the process of analyzing the value and risks that come from the continued usage of an application or relationship with a SaaS provider.
My background with SaaS enterprise applications is extensive, having been an early pioneer in the space with the Siebel CRM On Demand team in the early 2000's, eventually moving to the Salesforce platform and spending over 15 years as an architect designing interconnected enterprise systems and CRM applications. I have also designed, built, and maintained multiple commercial SaaS applications as a CTO and Chief Architect.
While my SaaS technical expertise runs deep, I am also intimitaly familiar with aspects of SaaS that go well beyond the tech, including commercial, intellectual property, and indemnification terms in service agreements, provider and product due diligence and risk assessment, vendor relationship management, and contract negotioation.
Is getting SaaS spend and potential vendor and business risk under control on your agenda? Give the engagement options a look to see if "Fractional" retainer-based advisory or a "Concierge" subscription might make sense in taking on SaaS Application Rationalization or other challenge or solution spaces together.
Want to chat? I have slots on my calendar set aside for discussions, if anything works for you let's meet over a Zoom to talk about what life could look like if you had SaaS sprawl under control.
