The world of SaaS (Software as a Service) continues to evolve at a lightning-fast pace, making it a crucial part of any modern business’ operations. Among the many aspects of SaaS, one that often goes unnoticed but holds significant importance is SaaS Procurement. This article will take you on a deep-dive into the world of SaaS Procurement, discussing its significance, best practices, benefits, and pitfalls along the way. Let’s get started!
What is SaaS Procurement
SaaS Procurement is a strategic process that involves the selection, acquisition, and management of software services that are delivered and accessed over the internet. Unlike traditional software purchases, SaaS procurement operates on a subscription basis, eliminating the need for outright license purchases.
The process may involve several stakeholders, such as IT, finance, and procurement departments, to ensure the right SaaS tools are procured and implemented effectively to support the organization’s business objectives.
The Need for SaaS Procurement
In our fast-paced, efficiency-driven business landscape, antiquated processes that take forever to yield results no longer cut it. With technology being deeply ingrained in every facet of a business, teams across departments require software solutions to achieve their goals efficiently.
Before the SaaS era, procurement teams served as the primary negotiation and finance-centric role, evaluating purchasing processes, and presenting those findings to internal stakeholders for project implementation. However, the advent of SaaS brought about a shift in procurement’s role, transforming it into a strategic enabler that introduces new technologies, workflows, and best practices into corporate scaling.
Pro Tips: Take control of your SaaS Procurement
Best Practices in SaaS Procurement
While SaaS procurement offers a multitude of advantages, it’s crucial to follow best practices to maximize its benefits. Here are some key steps to ensure a streamlined SaaS procurement process:
Identifying Business Needs
The first step involves recognizing the specific business needs that the SaaS solution will fulfill. This could include analyzing current processes, identifying gaps, and determining the necessary features and capabilities of the software.
Researching and Comparing Options
After identifying the business needs, the next step is to research and compare various SaaS options to find the best fit. This could involve evaluating the software’s features, pricing, and support options.
Requesting Proposals
With potential software options identified, the next step is to request proposals from the vendors. This typically involves outlining the organization’s specific needs and requirements and asking any questions or concerns.
Evaluating Proposals
Once the proposals are received, they need to be reviewed and compared to determine which vendor offers the best solution. This could involve evaluating the software’s features, pricing, and support options.
Negotiating Terms
After selecting a vendor, the next step is to negotiate the terms of the agreement. This could include negotiating the pricing, payment terms, and other relevant conditions.
Implementing the Software
After finalizing the agreement, the software is implemented. This could involve setting up user accounts, training employees, and integrating the software with other systems.
Monitoring Usage
Regular monitoring of data backups, user activity, and system performance can help maintain control over your IT infrastructure and preempt potential issues.
How can SaaS Procurement Benefit Your Business?
Adopting a strategic approach to SaaS procurement brings a myriad of benefits to organizations. Here are some of them:
Cost Savings
SaaS procurement allows businesses to reduce upfront costs by subscribing to software services using best negotiation techniques instead of buying individual licenses. This approach can result in significant cost savings. Sometimes up to 50%
Scalability
As organizations grow, their software needs change. SaaS procurement offers the flexibility to scale software usage up or down as per the business requirements without having to invest in additional IT resources. This is achieved through monitoring daily active usage and utilization of the software
Flexibility
SaaS procurement offers the convenience of monitoring tech stack or redundant software capabilities from single dashboard this make it easy to monitor the spend and control the SaaS expenditures on real time basis
Security
SaaS procurement covers Identity and access management built within the unified tech stack. It makes it easy to monitor the softwares with risky – read, write permissions that could expose personally identifiable information or general business information without intent. Usage of well made saas procurement software prevents such compliance and risk issues.
Innovation
SaaS procurement allows businesses to assess the related tech stack and market / community best practices based on latest software updates and features quickly, giving them a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving business environment.
This community based benchmarking allows businesses to compare themselves against competitors and industry best practices
Setting Up Your SaaS Procurement Process
Setting up a strategic SaaS procurement process can ensure you reap all the benefits it has to offer. Here are the basic steps involved in setting up a SaaS procurement process:
- Identify the Need: The initial step is to identify why a new SaaS tool is needed.
- Evaluate Options: The procurement team then understands the requirements more closely and evaluates options based on this.
- Choose a Vendor: In collaboration with the requester, the procurement team chooses the right vendor.
- Negotiate the Contract: The SaaS vendor and the procurement team negotiate the terms of the contract.
- Implement the Software: The SaaS tool is implemented, which consists of setting up user accounts, securely transferring data, and providing staff training on system usage.
- Monitor Usage: Procurement/IT teams track the usage of SaaS licenses and monitor user sentiment to decide when the contract is up for renewal.
Common Pitfalls in SaaS Procurement
Despite its advantages, organizations often commit mistakes in SaaS procurement that can prove costly. Here are some common mistakes:
- Moving Too Fast or Too Slow: Striking a balance between speed and accuracy is crucial.
- Not Exploring All Options: Organizations often settle for the first SaaS vendor that comes along, which can result in overpaying or having limited functionality.
- Failing to Try the Product: Organizations that don’t use their full trial period extensively might end up with a product that teams don’t like/use.
- Ignoring Hidden Costs: Most SaaS tools today offer usage-based pricing, which includes various kinds of overages.
- Accepting Off-the-Shelf Pricing: Most SaaS vendors have a significant negotiation buffer. Accepting the first quote wastes all these opportunities.
What is a SaaS Procurement Solution?
A strategic SaaS procurement solution is a service or platform that assists businesses in buying, managing, and renewing SaaS licenses. It consolidates all SaaS tool requests, automates approval workflows, compares pricing for various tools, monitors user/usage data, and understands user sentiment for every tool.
What to Look for in a SaaS Procurement Solution
When seeking an ideal SaaS Procurement solution, these are some important features to consider:
- User-Friendly Processes: Look for SaaS solutions that are user-friendly and straightforward tools.
- Real-Time Updates: Ensure that the SaaS procurement solution you choose can provide real-time updates.
- Mobile Access: Ensure that the SaaS procurement you select has mobile device remote access capabilities for everyone in the business with permission-based access.
Simplify Your SaaS Procurement with Zapro
Zapro understands the challenges faced by businesses in SaaS procurement and therefore provides a robust and seamless solution to manage your SaaS needs efficiently. With Zapro, you can consolidate all your SaaS tool requests, automate approval workflows, monitor usage, and negotiate better deals with vendors. Get a demo today and see how Zapro can transform your SaaS procurement process.