SaaS Discovery
See everything: Gain complete visibility with comprehensive SaaS discovery
In today's decentralized IT landscape, do you really know how many SaaS applications are being used in your organization? Gaining visibility into all known and unknown applications is the critical first step to managing spend, reducing risk and optimizing your SaaS portfolio. Flexera's powerful discovery solutions provide the complete, accurate inventory you need to take control.
Recommended Products
Complete SaaS discovery and usage data
SaaS discovery
Complete SaaS discovery
Gain full visibility into your SaaS
Not all SaaS discovery methods are created equal. API connectors and financial records will tell you how much you’ve spent and if licenses are allocated but fail to provide information on what’s most important: verified usage. SaaS application usage is the only way to find allocated but unused licenses, downgrade from expensive premium bundles and identify security risks.
SaaS monitor
Discover and monitor SaaS
Make sound SaaS decisions
Gain a current and complete picture of SaaS usage to support your business stakeholders and the visibility needed to optimize SaaS spend with all your vendors. Complete discovery enables you to take action by identifying shadow SaaS, removing redundant applications and optimizing subscriptions based on actual usage.
Accurate SaaS data
Consistent, complete SaaS data
Consistent, complete and accurate SaaS data
Obtain optimization insights for 25,000 applications with verified usage data via our browser extension, direct API integrations and connections to single sign on (SSO) platforms. Uncover risk by discovering use of free and paid applications that have not been vetted by IT security. Reduce spend for some of your most expensive SaaS vendors (Microsoft, Adobe, Salesforce, ServiceNow) with hybrid application usage details and optimization insights.
The challenge of SaaS discovery
The high cost of what you don't see
Traditional discovery methods like reviewing financial records or relying solely on SSO data leave significant gaps. They fail to capture the full extent of shadow IT—free, freemium and expensed applications that operate outside of IT's purview. This lack of visibility creates a host of financial and security risks.
- Unseen security risks: Unvetted applications create vulnerabilities and potential data leakage points
- Hidden costs and wasted spend: Redundant subscriptions and unused licenses go unnoticed, draining the budget
- Compliance and governance gaps: Inability to enforce corporate data handling and privacy policies on unmanaged applications
- Inefficient operations: IT and procurement cannot effectively manage or support a portfolio that they cannot see
- Data silos: Critical business data becomes trapped in unsanctioned and unintegrated applications
- Financial system and expense report integration: To identify paid subscriptions
- Direct API connectors: For deep usage and entitlement data from hundreds of major SaaS vendors
- SSO and CASB integration: To see which sanctioned apps are being accessed
- Browser extension: To capture usage of the long tail of SaaS applications, including free and freemium services accessed directly by users
- Desktop and mobile agents: To discover desktop clients associated with SaaS services
A complete picture
How Flexera achieves unmatched SaaS visibility
A single discovery method is not enough. Flexera utilizes a multi-source approach to provide the most comprehensive and accurate view of your SaaS environment. By combining data from multiple vantage points, we ensure you can discover sanctioned, unsanctioned and even free SaaS applications that other tools miss.
Beyond discovery
Why verified usage data matters
Identifying an application is only the first step. To make smart decisions, you need to know if it's actually being used. Flexera goes beyond simple discovery to provide verified usage data, showing not just what you have, but how it's being leveraged by employees.
- Identify true shelfware: Pinpoint assigned licenses that are completely unused
- Optimize license tiers: Downgrade users from expensive premium plans if they aren't using premium features
- Inform renewal decisions: Make data-driven choices about which subscriptions to continue or cancel
- Drive application adoption: Identify power users and areas where more training may be needed
Using discovery as the foundation for SaaS management
Comprehensive discovery is the foundational first step of a mature SaaS management lifecycle. The complete and accurate inventory provided by Flexera directly enables the next strategic actions.
- Discover: Create a complete inventory of all SaaS applications
- Rationalize: Analyze the inventory to identify redundant applications and consolidate your portfolio
- Optimize: Use usage data to reclaim licenses and reduce spend
- Secure: Assess the risk of all applications and ensure compliance
- Automate: Implement workflows for onboarding, offboarding and renewals
The Flexera and Snow advantage
The most comprehensive discovery engine
Flexera's industry-leading SaaS management platforms, Flexera One and Snow Atlas, are built on the principle that you cannot manage what you can’t see. Our multi-faceted discovery approach is designed to provide the most complete visibility available.
Breadth of discovery |
Depth of insight |
|---|---|
| Massive application catalog: Our discovery capabilities recognize over 25,000 SaaS applications and counting. | Verified usage metering: We provide detailed usage data, not just login counts, for true optimization. |
| Shadow IT specialization: Purpose-built to find the unmanaged and unsanctioned applications that create risk. | Direct vendor integrations: Deep API integrations with hundreds of top SaaS vendors like Microsoft, Salesforce and Adobe for rich data. |
Choose Flexera to get the complete and accurate SaaS inventory you need to make informed decisions about cost, security and compliance.
Real-world proof: Uncovering the unseen with Flexera
Using the Snow solutions, we found 236 cloud-based applications that both we and the department heads simply didn’t know about, and we even discovered users with illicit gaming software. With Snow, we gain real-time insight into our security risks, software consumption and asset inventory to help the Council make better strategic decisions in support of service delivery.
Flexera integrates with your top technology vendors
Frequently asked questions
Your SaaS discovery questions answered
Flexera uses a multi-source discovery strategy, including direct API integrations, financial system connectors, SSO integrations, and a browser extension to ensure the most complete and accurate view of your SaaS estate.
Yes, the automation solution provides support for software reclamation initiatives. This includes reclaiming a license for applications that haven’t been used within a specified number of days. Prior to revocation, the user of the application can be informed to ensure they can take any appropriate action. This solution also helps automate the joiner, mover, leaver process.
Discovering shadow IT requires going beyond sources like procurement or SSO data. Techniques like browser extensions and network analysis are needed to find applications that employees sign up for and use directly.
With Flexera's rapid deployment options and integrations, you can begin discovering your SaaS applications and gaining valuable insights within days or weeks, not months.
Flexera provides rich data including: user activity (active, inactive), subscription details, renewal dates, cost information and security risk assessments for discovered applications.
Yes, discovering free applications is critical for understanding security and compliance risk. Flexera's discovery methods are designed to find both paid and free applications in use across your organization.
Learn more about SaaS visibility and shadow IT
Informing IT, Transforming IT
Ready to see your full SaaS landscape?
Stop guessing and start seeing. Gain the complete visibility you need to manage costs, reduce risk and optimize your SaaS investments. Explore how Flexera's SaaS discovery solutions can illuminate your entire SaaS estate.