SaaS sprawl is costing your company money and efficiency.

The rapid adoption of cloud-based solutions has left many businesses grappling with an unwieldy array of subscriptions, leading to wasted resources and decreased productivity.

This proliferation of services often results in redundant tools, underutilised licences, and a lack of oversight that can compromise both security and compliance.

SaaS licence management tools offer a solution to these mounting challenges. They offered a centralised platform for overseeing your software ecosystem; these tools help you regain control.

Today, we’ll explore the top 6 SaaS licence management tools that can help your business make the most of its software investments.

But, before we jump into the software lists, let’s learn about the reason why you might need to consider this kind of software.

Challenges of managing multiple SaaS subscriptions

Before diving into the solutions, it’s crucial to understand the problems that you might face when dealing with numerous SaaS subscriptions:

1. Cost Overruns: Without proper oversight, you may end up paying for unused or underutilised licences, leading to unnecessary expenses.
2. Shadow IT: Your employees may subscribe to SaaS applications without IT department approval, creating security risks and potential compliance issues for your organisation.
3. Licence Compliance: Keeping track of licence terms, usage limits, and renewal dates across multiple platforms can be overwhelming for you and your team.
4. Inefficient Workflows: Manual processes for managing your subscriptions are time-consuming and prone to errors.
5. Lack of Visibility: It’s challenging for you to get a comprehensive view of all SaaS applications in use across your organisation.
6. Security Risks: Unauthorised or forgotten subscriptions can lead to data breaches if you don’t properly manage and secure them.

To address these challenges, you might consider turning to SaaS licence management software. Let’s explore some of the top solutions available in the market.

More in Nexalab’s blog: What is SaaS License Management: A Definitive Guide for Businesses

Top SaaS Licence Management Software Solutions

Now you know how much of a challenge managing a SaaS licence is.

To help you with that, let’s check out some of the leading tools available. Each of these solutions offers unique features to help you manage your SaaS.

Here are the top 6 SaaS licence management software solutions that you might want to consider.

1. Octobits

Octobits is a comprehensive SaaS management platform that helps you discover, optimise, and secure your SaaS ecosystem. It offers features like automated discovery, spend optimisation, and compliance management.

Pros

• Automated SaaS discovery and mapping for your organisation
• Real-time spend analytics and optimisation recommendations for your subscriptions
• Integration with major SSO and financial systems you might be using

Cons

• May be complex if you’re a small business with limited SaaS usage.
• Pricing can be on the higher end if you need enterprise-level features.

2. Spendflo

Spendflo focuses on SaaS spend management and optimisation. It provides insights into your usage patterns, helps you negotiate better contracts, and offers a centralised platform for managing all your SaaS subscriptions.

Pros

• AI-powered spend optimisation suggestions for your SaaS portfolio
• Contract negotiation assistance to help you get better deals
• User-friendly interface with customisable dashboards for your needs

Cons

• Limited features for security and compliance management of your SaaS applications
• May require manual input for some of your SaaS applications.

3. Josys

Josys offers a unique approach to IT asset management, including SaaS licences. It combines hardware and software management on a single platform, making it ideal if you’re looking for a comprehensive IT management solution.

Pros

• Unified management of your hardware and software assets
• Automated provisioning and deprovisioning of your SaaS licences
• Strong focus on security and compliance for your organisation

Cons

• May be overkill if you’re primarily focused on SaaS management.
• The learning curve can be steep due to the wide range of features you’d need to master.

4. Zylo

Zylo is a dedicated SaaS management platform that provides visibility into your SaaS usage, spend, and adoption across your organisation. It offers features like renewal management, utilisation tracking, and benchmarking.

Pros

• Extensive integration capabilities with your financial and HR systems
• Robust renewal management and forecasting for your subscriptions
• Detailed utilisation insights for optimising your licences

Cons

• Some advanced features may require additional configuration on your part.
• Pricing can be high if you’re a smaller organisation.

5. Freshworks

Freshworks offers a suite of business software, including Freshservice, which you can use for IT service management and SaaS licence management. It provides asset management capabilities alongside other IT management features.

Pros

• Integrated with other IT service management tools you might need
• User-friendly interface and easy setup for your team
• Affordable pricing if you’re a small to medium-sized business

Cons

• Not as specialised in SaaS management as dedicated platforms you might consider
• May lack some advanced features found in specialised solutions for your needs

6. ServiceNow

ServiceNow is a well-known platform for IT service management that also offers capabilities for software asset management, including SaaS licences. It provides a holistic approach to IT management within a single ecosystem for your organisation.

Pros

• Comprehensive IT management capabilities for your needs
• Strong workflow automation features to streamline your processes
• Scalable if you’re a large enterprise

Cons

• Can be complex and require significant setup time from your team
• May be too extensive and costly if you’re a smaller organisation focused solely on SaaS management.

Features to Look for in SaaS Licence Management Software

When evaluating SaaS licence management platform, it’s important to consider the features that will best suit your organisation’s specific needs.

While preferences may vary depending on your company’s size, industry, and existing software ecosystem, certain key features are generally valuable across the board.

Here are some essential features to look for in SaaS licence management software:

1. Automated Discovery: The ability to automatically detect and catalogue all SaaS applications in use across your organisation.
2. Spend Optimization: Tools for analysing your spending patterns and identifying opportunities for cost savings.
3. Usage Tracking: Detailed insights into how your employees are using various SaaS applications.
4. Licence Management: Features for managing your licence assignments, renewals, and compliance.
5. Security and Compliance: Tools for assessing the security risks of your SaaS applications and ensuring compliance with regulations.
6. Integration Capabilities: The ability to integrate with your other systems such as SSO, financial software, and HR platforms.
7. Renewal Management: Alerts and workflows for managing your subscription renewals and negotiations.

We hope the key features we mentioned above can help you have a starting point for evaluating different solutions.

As you explore options, keep in mind that the ideal feature set may vary based on your company’s size, industry, and current software landscape.

More in Nexalab’s blog: What is SaaS Management? Definition, Implementation, and Best Practices

Conclusion

As your business continues to adopt more SaaS applications, effective licence management becomes crucial for optimising costs, ensuring security, and maintaining compliance. Implementing a SaaS licence management solution will help you in so many ways. From gaining better visibility into your software ecosystem to boosting the overall operational efficiency.

And Octobits by Nexalab is your best choice for this!

Octobits is a powerful SaaS management platform that helps you take control of your software subscriptions.

It automatically finds all your SaaS apps, shows you where you’re spending money, and helps keep your data safe.

With Octobits, you can easily track how your team uses apps, cut unnecessary costs, and make sure you’re following all the rules.

Whether you’re a small business or a large company, Octobits’ easy-to-use system can help you manage your SaaS tools more effectively.

Contact Nexalab now to get started with Octobits.