Future of SaaS License Management
Have you ever wondered why SaaS license management has become so important? This is because the companies have become more eager to invest in SaaS (Software as a Service). According to one prediction by Gartner, the SaaS market is likely to grow in 2025 by 19.2% to $299 billion.
Management of SaaS licenses has become vital for most companies. The reason behind this is that companies are mostly using hundreds of apps at a time. SaaS subscription management will lead to less overspending, less wastage and ultimately fewer cases of non-compliance.
In the near future, SaaS license management will be AI-powered, usage-based and fully automated, leading to more compliance and cost optimization.
In this article, we will explore all the aspects of SaaS license, including the use of AI and automation for this purpose in future.
What is SaaS License management?
SaaS license management, also known as cloud license management, is basically a process where you keep an eye on the SaaS licenses of a company. Previously, companies used to pay a one-time price for the full software and use it according to their company’s requirements. Now companies have to get the subscriptions to software by paying monthly or yearly.
The license permits you to use a particular SaaS product. In SaaS license management, you supervise and administer these licenses carefully. You have to oversee software license compliance, Individual and group user permissions, contracts and renewals and so on.
The Current Scenario of SaaS License Management
In the current scenario, many businesses are still relying on spreadsheets and manual checking of SaaS subscriptions. The companies have purchased hundreds of SaaS products that they don’t even need. There is a looming risk of shadow IT in most companies where teams are unaware of which SaaS the other team has already paid for.
The companies are losing the opportunity to get certain discounts at the enterprise level. Also, there are redundancies in SaaS applications due to a lack of collaboration between teams.
Some company employees are wasting almost 38% of SaaS licenses. This is due to the lack of understanding of the SaaS product and it leads to a waste of resources. On the other hand, in some companies, there is overutilization of SaaS products. Due to all these reasons, software license compliance has become more important than ever.
Integration of AI in SaaS Spend Management
AI has played a significant role in revolutionizing SaaS spend management. AI is helping businesses across the world in SaaS management in the following ways:
- You can easily optimize license utilization with AI by analysing real-time usage data accurately. It can detect the over- or underutilized licenses, thus saving the cost spent on these resources.
- Proactive compliance management is possible due to AI.
- You can predict the need for a certain license in the future.
- AI provides effective SaaS asset management by accurately predicting the needs, ensuring compliance and thus leading to cost reductions in SaaS licensing.
- There is improved vendor management due to AI
Usage Data
The importance of smart data tools in SaaS license management can not be denied. With the help of these tools, you can report and predict the appropriate use of SaaS licenses. The license usage tracking lets you record the data about which team or individual is using which SaaS product and which features.
It helps you make informed decisions in spreading licenses across the company. For example, the data may show that the employees are using only 20% of the premium features of the SaaS product. Then you can optimize SaaS costs by avoiding overspending on such products.
Automation
AI automation is the real future of SaaS license management. The automation does not necessarily mean giving or removing licenses to employees. It can make real-time changes in license usage by predictive analytics. If a person decides to leave a company, then this AI automation notifies you and you can easily give that license to a new employee.
You can detect unapproved apps by automating shadow IT management and hence save a lot of unnecessary cost on licenses. SaaS governance has been made easy by the automation of compliance reports.
What’s the Future Of SaaS License Management?
So, with the growing need of SaaS products by companies, SaaS license management has become crucial. In the future, you will do all this management with AI and data usage tools. Everything from license purchase to renewal will be automated.
This will not only optimize SaaS subscription costs but will also lead to improved SaaS vendor management.
Conclusion
Hence, there is an ever-increasing need for flexibility, growth and automation in the future of SaaS license. You will have everything automated with AI, including license issuance and renewal. Smarter data tracking tools will help detect the unused SaaS products and their features. This will lead to better compliance and cost management.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started with smarter SaaS investments through effective license management. This will be possible by only staying ahead of the game so that we can reap the maximum benefits of SaaS products.
FAQs
What are the types of SaaS licenses?
There are various types of SaaS licenses based on cost and access. Some of them include subscription licensing, flat-rate licensing, feature-based licensing, user-based licensing, pay-as-you-go and so on.
Which SaaS licenses can be managed by AI?
Various types of licenses can be managed by AI, including subscription-based licenses, node-locked licenses, floating licenses and user-based licenses and so on.
What are some of the best practices for SaaS license management?
Some of the best practices include creating SaaS license inventory, setting up relevant roles like those of IT administrators, license approver and SaaS user. It can also be done by scheduling regular audits, organizing renewal and contract negotiations and so on.
What is the benefit of AI automation in small and mid-sized businesses?
AI automation is very effective in businesses, whether small or mid-sized. It can help in optimizing SaaS costs, improving efficiency and compliance, thus giving an improved user experience.
Are there any legal considerations in SaaS license agreements?
Yes, there are certain legal considerations when you are using any SaaS software. These are essential to protect the rights of both customers and SaaS providers. Some of them include confidentiality and data protection, dispute resolution, liability and indemnification.
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