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The many attractions of the cloud have led to the widespread proliferation of software as a service (SaaS). Consultancy firm Gartner forecasts end-user spending on public cloud services to reach $482 billion this year, with the largest chunk of that taken up by SaaS.
As companies increasingly migrate away from on-premise options, the need for comprehensive SaaS management platforms has grown exponentially. These tools help offices keep on top of purchasing, renewals, licensing, compliance and all other aspects of administration associated with SaaS.
SaaS tools have become indispensable in the modern business landscape. Our article can help you understand some of them.
1. Overview of the Best SaaS Management Tools List
Zluri – Best for identifying your current SaaS usage
Basaas – Best for one unified platform to manage apps and tasks
Desktop.com – Best for bringing remote teams together
CoreView – Best for administering Microsoft 365
Patronum – Best for administering Google Workspace
Ampliphae – Best for maintaining a risk-free SaaS environment
Applogie – Best for instantly improved visibility on software costs
BetterCloud – Best for upskilling your knowledge and usage of SaaS solutions
OpenLM – Best for administering engineering software applications
Cloudmore – Best for cloud solution providers looking to better manage their customers
Apptio – Best for visualization of SaaS tool utilization
Augmentt – Best for managed service providers
Beamy – Best for empowering business units to take control of SaaS management
SailPoint – Best for ensuring secure SaaS usage for remote workers
Productiv – Best for data-based recommendations for SaaS management optimization
IFS assyst – Best for implementing automated workflows with minimal technical skills
Zylo – Best for outsourcing the cost negotiations for SaaS solutions
Torii – Best for comparing SaaS functionality and streamlining vendors
LeanIX – Best for trimming the fat of cloud software purchases
CloudFX – Best for all-in-one cloud optimization, eCommerce and SaaS management
Genuity – Best for transparent pricing with no hidden add-ons
CloudM – Best for migration and management in one service
Qualys Cloud Platform – Best for SaaS security and threat detection
2. SaaS Management Platform Comparison Criteria
2.1 User interface
The user interface is important for any piece of software. A good UI will be intuitive, consistent, clear and responsive.
2.2 Usability
How you choose a SaaS management platform should be partially based on usability, which can be defined by such factors as how easy it is to learn and how efficiently it performs tasks.
2.3 Price
Transparent pricing is essential for you to make an informed decision about whether a SaaS solution fits the budget and whether it makes the best saas management platform for your company needs.
3. What Are the Top 5 Most Important Features of SaaS?
3.1 User management
Effective user management means you can ensure the right staff have access to the right software. It can also be beneficial for security purposes as it facilitates usage tracking.
3.2 Application cost optimization
SaaS management tools enable better ROI by allowing you to make sure that the applications you’ve paid for are being assigned to the staff who will gain the most benefit from them.
3.3 Application usage insights
Sometimes you might not be sure who in a group of people most uses an application or what aspect of the application is most helpful, which is why the best saas management platform on any list must include usage insights
3.4 Application security
SaaS management tools give IT teams better oversight of what applications are in the company’s portfolio and help to prevent so-called shadow IT, where employees access unauthorized applications that can potentially lead to security issues.
3.5 License renewals
The more SaaS that is embedded within a business, the more difficult it becomes to keep track of simple but important tasks like license renewals. The best saas management platform on any list will provide excellent SaaS management tools that can help automate the cumbersome process.
4. Top 23 SaaS Management Platforms List
4.1 Zluri – Best for identifying your current SaaS usage
Founded in 2020, Zluri aims to simplify the world’s transition to SaaS by providing an intelligent dashboard to manage a company’s tech stack.
The smart app discovery feature enables businesses to log all the software currently used in the company ecosystem, rooting out shadow IT and tracking the usage data, so you can make better informed decisions about which solutions to retain and how many licenses you need. A renewal calendar makes it easy to keep track of when payments are due and simplify budgeting.
Zluri can be integrated with ID management platforms, accounting software and cloud security brokers to fit seamlessly into the company’s SaaS infrastructure.
Prices are available on request. The basic package includes automated SaaS discovery and budgeting for one administrator, while more comprehensive options include customer integrations, security and compliance alerts, renewal management and analytics.
4.2 Basaas – Best for one unified platform to manage apps and tasks
Used by more than 7,500 teams across 114 countries, Basaas is a solution designed for enterprise-level businesses that want to unify all their apps and workflows in one platform.
The current offering includes Basaas Tasks, which integrates tools like Asana, Jira, MeisterTask into one central interface where teams can keep track of all objectives and daily routines, and Basaas Workplace, which brings all of a company’s apps into a single productivity hub that can be personalized by individual.
SaaS management keeps on top of how your cloud-based apps are distributed among teams, departments and unique employees, with the option to create pre-defined dashboards and manage access via a single interface, which includes data on app usage and app security.
Prices start from $6.50 per user per month and rise in line with the number of integrations, administrators, corporate apps, user groups and team projects that are enabled. It’s worth noting that Basaas also has arguably the best SaaS management tool free option, which includes unlimited apps in Workplace, with 3 integrations per user, 1 administrator, the Basaas Dashboard and task management.
4.3 Desktop.com – Best for bringing remote teams together
Desktop.com has created an easy-to-use, simple UI that centralizes apps, company knowledge and documentation, and chat tools to enable more efficient remote working.
Each user can create as many public, team and personal desktops as they like to organize their digital workspace, with an in-built search feature to make it easier to find what you need, from company guides to software.
Single sign on (SSO) access management allows overseers to select what apps employees have access to as well as stay on top of security by providing everyone with a unique user profile.
Prices start from $8 per user per month and includes 250 members, 25 participants in calls, cross-platform chat with Slack, multifactor authentication and domain security. There’s also a free option that allows for unlimited desktops and unlimited groups chats/calls.
4.4 CoreView – Best for administering Microsoft 365
A Microsoft Gold Partner, CoreView has been specifically designed as a SaaS management platform for Microsoft 365 tools, working with more than 10 million users worldwide to optimize usage and automate tasks.
Virtual Tenants ensure that each role has delegated access only to the software they require, balancing the need for rapid execution of tasks with security and compliance control. This security extends to app auditing and incident management, which can be elevated with automated responses to risks and threats.
Out-of-the-box reporting functions highlight any unused, unassigned or over-assigned licenses, so you can hone utilization while also simplifying license renewals.
Prices start from $20,000 a year for the full package.
4.5 Patronum – Best for administering Google Workspace
Owned by cloud specialists Bespin Labs, Patronum describes itself as the “Swiss Army Knife for Google,” managing onboarding, offboarding and everything in between for companies using Google Workspace tools.
Designed to work across IT, HR, marketing and sales departments, Patronum automates user access to apps, files, folders, calendars and Google groups based on your pre-defined policies. It’s also easy to revoke those privileges when staff leave, preserving the security of your digital environment.
The platform integrates with ID as a service (IDaaS) providers like OneLogin and Okta, as well as staying on top of licensing costs with automatic deprovisioning functions.
Prices start at $8 per user per year for businesses, with a reduced rate of $2 per user per year for educational and non-profit organizations.
4.6 Ampliphae – Best for maintaining a risk-free SaaS environment
Ampliphae provides two core products: SaaSGuard, which manages ongoing risk and return on investment, and SaaSAssess, which provides a detailed report on your company’s SaaS policies and provisioning, benchmarking it against industry standards.
SaaSGuard provides the core functionality of the Ampliphae offering, continuously monitoring usage of SaaS tools and crowd-sourcing information to supply data analytics that can be used to assess app utilization as well as potential security issues and areas of concern regarding GDPR.
The solution restricts software utilization to tools that your company has approved and purchased licenses for, providing guidance on the best SaaS options for employee needs while also preventing ballooning IT costs and shadow IT.
Prices are available on request.
4.7 Applogie – Best for instantly improved visibility on software costs
Applogie estimates that the average company is overspending on software licenses by 30%. Their aim is to significantly cut that down.
Using their extensive vendor database, Applogie’s discovery process first discovers all the subscriptions being used in your organization, before putting all that information into a platform where you can track and manage tools according to utilization and cost over a period of months or years.
Once you have a better understanding of your cloud usage, you can rein in budgets by identifying areas of wastage and automate renewals to free up time for other concerns.
Prices start from $100 per user per month, including unlimited subscription, online training and email support.
4.8 BetterCloud – Best for upskilling your knowledge and usage of SaaS solutions
Promising a move from manual IT interventions to zero-touch automation in just two months, BetterCloud provides not just a SaaS management platform but access to a content library and whitepapers so you can stay on top of the latest trends and innovations in the SaaS space.
One of the most popular SaaS management platforms out there, it is built upon three pillars: Discover (find out what software you’re using and where the redundancies are), Manage (automate provisioning and deprovisioning according to job spec) and Secure (control what user data apps can access and receive alerts around data oversharing).
Integrations are available for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, as well as IDaaS like Okta.
Prices are available on request.
4.9 OpenLM – Best for administering engineering software applications
Founded in 2007, OpenLM is designed specifically to manage SaaS programs for the engineering industry.
The company offers software management for both on-prem and cloud use cases. The digital portal provides monitoring of licenses, providing a directory of available tools as well as a way to control access and automate renewals.
Additional features include the ability to enforce compliance with vendor agreements and track which licenses are node-locked and which ones are dynamic.
Prices start from $2 per user per month for monitoring functions or $3 per user per month for automation functions.
4.10 Cloudmore – Best for cloud solution providers looking to better manage their customers
Operating since 2007, Cloudmore provides clients with the tools to monitor subscriptions out of three bases: the UK, Sweden and Estonia.
Unlike other companies on this list, Cloudmore is principally involved with the reseller market, helping businesses in the IT, manufacturing and telecoms industries to get a clear view of what software they are selling on to customers and making it easier to adjust licenses and payments as necessary.
Their services include providing neat interfaces to manage subscription licenses and automate billing. Additionally, they can help build self-service portals, so that resellers can give some degree of control to customers who want to directly manage their subscriptions.
Prices are available on request.
4.11 Apptio – Best for visualization of SaaS tool utilization
Apptio started out in 2007 offering a solution for IT budgeting, forecasting, and financial analyses. After being acquired in 2019 by Vista Equity Partners, they added competitors Cloudability and Targetprocess to their business, offering cloud migration and agile working platforms to the mix.
The SaaS management function allows users to track apps across the business and see the results in a single view via spend graphs over time, bar charts tracking current cost and overall utilization by number of employees. With this information, companies can eliminate software sprawl and more accurately forecast IT budgets.
Data can be drilled down into individual employee utilization, so you can ensure nobody is oversharing information, preventing GDPR and SOC2 compliance issues.
Prices are available on request.
4.12 Augmentt – Best for managed service providers
Augmentt specializes in helping managed service providers (MSPs) deliver IT infrastructure through its cloud management solution and multi-tenant tech that makes it easy to switch between clients.
The platform discovers SaaS tools utilized within a company in just 10 minutes. From there, it aids MSPs in identifying security and compliance risks associated with existing applications and makes it easy to build automated workflows for provisioning and deprovisioning employees.
Build customized dashboards that deliver data and exportable reports, while using the least privilege access approach so that staff have just the right amount of capabilities available, reducing the risk of security and data breaches.
Prices are available on request.
4.13 Beamy – Best for empowering business units to take control of SaaS management
Using a platform that brings together IT technicians with other stakeholders in procurement and data protection, Beamy aims to democratize IT for a more productive way to manage SaaS tools.
Mapping and tracking your company’s tech stack, Beamy centralizes the view of all SaaS software within an employee portal that bridges the gap between the leaders of business units and the IT team. This way, it’s easier to share knowledge and data about app utilization within different departments and optimize the company’s overall ROI.
In addition to streamlining renewals and decommissioning, Beamy provides risk assessments through questionnaire-based data collection and custom scoring criteria based on data privacy, security and compliance.
Prices are available on request.
4.14 SailPoint – Best for ensuring secure SaaS usage for remote workers
SailPoint approaches SaaS management through the lens of security, using the Zero Trust model as a basis for operations.
Zero Trust is based upon constantly and continuously verifying the identity of users, which can be particularly useful when access to company assets is predominantly from remote workers. This concept is used by SailPoint to provide increased visibility of the apps staff are using to optimize provisioning and access requests. Artificial intelligence proactively identifies suspicious behavior and sets up separation-of-duty policies to limit utilization of particular programs to only those who specifically require them.
By providing better visibility, you can get control of shadow IT issues and cut back on underutilized software licenses. Integrations are available for AWS, Microsoft SAP, ServiceNow and other common solutions.
Prices are available on request.
4.15 Productiv – Best for data-based recommendations for SaaS management optimization
Reducing the IT burden for companies is the primary objective of Productiv, which has been vending a SaaS management platform since 2018.
Productiv’s product uses SSO, contracts, expenses, HR systems and other data points to fuel its Intelligence Platform, which delivers real-time SaaS visibility, insights on portfolio optimization, automation of workflows and personalized app interfaces that allow employees to request access to software via a Slack integration to enhance the speed of approvals.
Simultaneously reducing wastage and increasing efficient adoption, Productiv sends regular recommendations regarding license provisioning based on specific feature utilization by department and by individual.
Prices are available on request.
4.16 IFS assyst – Best for implementing automated workflows with minimal technical skills
Now part of IFS’s suite of enterprise software services, assyst’s functionality covers IT services management, IT operations management and enterprise service management.
This unified approach makes it easier to roll out standardized automated workflows across an organization using assyst’s no-code, drag-and-drop system, which requires minimal technical knowhow to use. In the case of its SaaS tool management functionality, provisioning and software access can be pre-determined for specific roles and departments, freeing up IT for other tasks.
Dashboards can be used to track performance and app demand to streamline the assessment of capacity, availability, performance, compliance and security.
Prices are available on request.
4.17 Zylo – Best for outsourcing the cost negotiations for SaaS solutions
Designed to help IT and procurement, from CIOs to asset managers, Zylo’s sleek and clean UI makes it easy to translate the facts and figures surrounding your SaaS usage into actionable insights.
In addition to features like improving visibility of SaaS in your company, tracking utilization data and simplifying your view of software pricing and renewals, Zylo also offers a more personalized service to improve your usage of SaaS tools. SaaS Manager, for instance, custom configures the platform to deal with your specific issues around shadow IT and application onboarding/offboarding.
Arguably the most unique Zylo feature is the SaaS Negotiator, which takes the process of haggling over costs out of your hands. Using benchmark-backed prices, the company will secure the best prices from your software providers, whether for new purchases or renewals.
Prices are available on request.
4.18 Torii – Best for comparing SaaS functionality and streamlining vendors
From ID management to financial software, Torii provides a gateway to manage all your cloud-based solutions.
The discovery process furnishes you with application discovery, subscription discovery and spend mapping, so you can see what tools your employees are using, how many subscriptions have been purchased for each tool and the overall spend on various SaaS functions. Once you have this data, you can set up protocols for license rightsizing and renewal, as well as receive visualizations of where software capabilities overlap and cost comparisons, so you can streamline the number of vendors you deal with.
Torii integrates with a broad variety of solutions from ID management like Okta and OneLogin, to accounting programs like Expensify and NetSuite, to communication applications like slack Slack and Zoom.
Prices are available on request.
4.19 LeanIX – Best for trimming the fat of cloud software purchases
Working with multinationals like Bosch, Santander and Adidas, LeanIX aids IT architects and asset managers maintain control and transparency over their SaaS landscape using a trio of solutions: Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM), Value Stream Management (VSM) and SaaS Management Platform (SMP).
The SMP is the part of LeanIX that helps companies gain oversight of the entire SaaS ecosystem, identifying opportunities to centralize certain applications and remove others entirely – all through a ‘single pane of glass’ interface. This unified console drives accountability for software by assigning ownership to specific managers or departments, who can then negotiate better contracts with vendors aided by benchmarked pricing provided by LeanIX.
You can also track the GDPR and SOC2 compliance through a simple mechanism in the interface, while taking advantage of integrations with Google, Microsoft, Workday and Salesforce.
Prices are available on request and our based on desired functionality with unlimited users across the board.
4.20 CloudFX – Best for all-in-one cloud optimization, eCommerce and SaaS management
CloudFX delivers an IT as a service experience that incorporates SaaS, cloud and digital marketplace management solutions to simplify all aspect of web-based business.
Its SMP addresses optimization of license usage, redundant applications, and security and compliance concerns through a single control center. Users can view their aggregated software and associated spend alongside contract renewal calendars, in order to better anticipate future costs and better manage vendors.
This simplified approach to SaaS governance makes it easier to automate onboarding workflows, automatically providing software access depending on role requirements and seniority with minimal IT intervention and maximum efficiency.
Prices are available on request.
4.21 Genuity – Best for transparent pricing with no hidden add-ons
Genuity uses economies of scale purchasing to get its customers the best price for cloud-based tools, then helps them manage the contracts and renewals with its unique platform.
Details of spend on all software is aggregated in one place, so you can quickly see a complete overview of your existing contracts, assets and expenses through a mixture of bar charts, line graphs and donut graphics.
In addition to the typical tracking and analytics features of an SMP, Genuity also keeps track of performance and bugs to strengthen your negotiating position when it comes time for license renewals.
Prices are incredibly streamlined: just a $29.99 flat fee per month for unlimited users.
4.22 CloudM – Best for migration and management in one service
Combining cloud migration and management services, CloudM provides automation for both Microsoft and Google products.
In practice, this means customers can easily migrate all their SaaS tools to either Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, then track which utilization so they can decide what to keep and what to ditch based upon data analytics.
Onboarding, offboarding, archiving and migrations can all be automated using the CloudM platform, with protocols like role based access and least privilege access designed to improve security and reduce license wastage.
Prices are available on request.
4.23 Qualys Cloud Platform – Best for SaaS security and threat detection
Cloud security, risk auditing, compliance and general all-round protection of your IT systems is the basis of Qualys’ business model.
Their platform analyzes more than 8 trillion data points worldwide, delivering customers data and real time through customizable dashboards. While this is primarily designed to mitigate threats to your system architecture, it can also be employed to manage applications.
In fact, Qualy's Global AssetView is completely free of charge. While it doesn’t supply all the features that dedicated SMPs do, it does allow for unlimited, continuous discovery of software within your business, along with detailed asset information and the ability to custom tag based on functionality.
Prices for Qualys Cloud Platform are available on request and are based upon number of apps, IP addresses and user licenses.
5. FAQs
- What is SaaS management software?
SaaS management software allows companies to keep track of their assets and optimize spend, reducing unnecessary cost and ensuring the right employees have access to the tools they need to do their jobs.
- What do SaaS management platforms do?
SaaS management platforms use discovery functions to create a visualization of a company’s SaaS ecosystem, with accompanying tracking and monitoring capabilities that can feed data into an analytics engine. This supports the decision-making process around the purchase and renewal of user licenses, while simultaneously helping to track potential security and compliance risks around unauthorized software usage.
- What kinds of SaaS management platforms are there?
Some SMPs focus solely on asset discovery and the reduction of shadow IT, while others provide more detailed data dashboards about app utilization. A number of SMPs will actively supply suggestions for how to improve your SaaS software usage or get involved with the vendor contract negotiation process to help you achieve the best possible purchase price.
