With the proliferation of SaaS comes the challenge of managing and optimizing these resources effectively. SaaS application rationalization—streamlining your SaaS portfolio by eliminating redundant or underutilized applications—is a critical process for maximizing efficiency and cost-effectiveness. But how do you track the success of these efforts? Showing value is a common challenge for SAM professionals. Here are a few ways to prove value and show your success in your efforts. Let’s explore the key steps.
Setting a baseline
The first step in any SaaS rationalization initiative is establishing a clear baseline of your current environment. This involves a comprehensive audit of all SaaS applications in use, their associated costs, user adoption rates, and overall effectiveness. To develop your baseline, start with these steps:
- Inventory your SaaS apps: Identify every SaaS app in use across the organization. This includes not just officially sanctioned software but also shadow IT—applications that employees have adopted around IT oversight.
- Assess usage and value: Evaluate the actual usage of each application. How many users actively engage with the solution? Are they leveraging its full potential, or are there features that go unused? Additionally, determine the value each application provides to the organization in terms of productivity, collaboration, or other key metrics.
- Identify inefficiencies: Look for signs of inefficiency, such as overlapping functionalities between solutions, applications with low usage, or software that doesn’t align with current business needs.
- Involve stakeholders in the process: Identify key stakeholders, including department heads, IT leaders, and end-users, and involve them in the decision-making process. Their insights can help identify which applications are critical to their workflows and which can be retired.
- Set solid goals: Setting measurable goals for your rationalization efforts isn’t always cut and dry. Your goals could include reducing the number of applications, cutting costs by a certain percentage, or improving user adoption rates for essential solutions.
Demonstrating success
Unlike traditional metrics that offer clear, quantifiable results, success in SaaS management can be hard to articulate. The absence of a one-size-fits-all metric means success is not always immediately apparent and may involve long-term gains that are difficult to measure but crucial for demonstrating the value of your SaaS investments.
- Demonstrate the benefits rather than the numbers: Keep in mind that cost savings aren’t always the first indication of success. Other ways success can be measured includes a reduction in IT support tickets, contract consolidation, and more efficient use of applications. Use data to tell the story—show how SaaS rationalization has led to measurable improvements in efficiency, cost management, and overall business outcomes.
- Justify continued investment: Managing your SaaS environment never stops, so continue to justify the need for ongoing investment in SaaS management to your leadership team. Highlight how the rationalization efforts contribute to broader strategic goals, such as innovation and competitive advantage.
Adoption tracking and counting your wins
A critical aspect of SaaS rationalization is ensuring that the remaining and newly adopted applications are fully utilized and embraced by users. Tracking adoption and gathering feedback are key to continuous improvement.
- Monitor adoption rates: After rationalization, track the adoption of new or migrated applications. Are users engaging with these solutions as expected? Are they leveraging the full range of features? Understanding adoption rates helps you identify any gaps in training or communication that need to be addressed.
- Gather up stakeholder feedback: Get feedback from users and stakeholders to understand their experiences with the rationalized SaaS environment. Are the solutions meeting their needs? Is there any resistance to the changes? Use this feedback to fine-tune your approach to managing your SaaS environment.
- Celebrate successes: Finally, don’t forget to count your wins. Highlight the successes of your SaaS rationalization efforts—whether it’s a significant cost saving, a boost in productivity, or a smoother workflow. Celebrating these victories helps build momentum and reinforces the value of ongoing SaaS management.
A few final thoughts
Tracking the success of SaaS application rationalization is an ongoing process that requires careful planning, stakeholder engagement, and continuous monitoring. By establishing a clear baseline, setting measurable goals, and regularly communicating your successes, you can ensure that your SaaS environment remains optimized for efficiency and aligned with your organization’s strategic objectives.
This is the second article in our ongoing SaaS series. Catch up with the first article on where to start with app rationalization. We’ve got more advice coming on how to make the most out of SaaS subscription models. Subscribe to the Flexera blog to stay in the loop.
