A Glimpse into the Past

The evolution of SaaS tools can be traced back to the onset of software development in the 1960s. Mainframe computers were expensive and only large companies and research institutions could afford one. They also had to rely on on-premise software and needed to have their own servers and in-house IT teams to maintain the systems. Eventually, computers were commercialized, and the internet was developed. With the invention of the internet, cloud-based solutions came about. Ecommerce was born, with Amazon and eBay being the pioneers. In the SaaS world, Salesforce emerged and launched its CRM platform online.

The Explosion of SaaS Offerings

Today, it’s easier not just for large players but also for SMBs to operate and dominate with the sea of SaaS tools available across various sectors. There are now 30,000 SaaS companies worldwide, serving millions of customers.

The following are some of the big SaaS players across different industries:

CRM Software

• Salesforce
• Hubspot
• Zoho
• Pipedrive
• Keap

Project Management

• Trello
• Asana
• Notion
• ClickUp
• Airtable

Marketing

• Mailchimp
• Ahrefs
• SemRush
• Zapier
• Sprout Social
• Hootsuite

Ecommerce

• Shopify
• Wix
• BigCommerce
• Squarespace
• Magento

Team Collaboration and Communication

• Slack
• Microsoft Teams
• Skype
• Zoom
• Google Meet

Content Management

• WordPress
• Joomla
• Drupal
• Ghost
• Blogger

Accounting

• Quickbooks
• Freshbooks
• Xero
• Zoho Books
• Wave

Design

• Canva
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Figma
• SketchUp
• Webflow

Human Resources Management

• Deel
• BambooHR
• Workday
• Namely
• Paycom

The software apps above are just a few of the thousands of other options available. There’s no shortage of SaaS products, and there are no signs of stopping. According to Fortune Business Insights, the SaaS market is projected to grow from $273.55 billion in 2023 to $908.21 billion by 2030.

Why SaaS Became the Go-To for SMBs

The luxury of technology that was once available to only a handful of big enterprises are now made accessible to millions of small and medium-sized companies across the world. SMBs have embraced the use of SaaS tools because of the following key benefits:

• Cost-Effective: Reduced upfront costs compared to traditional software purchases.
• Scalability: Ability to scale up or down based on business requirements.
• Accessibility: The advantage of remote access, especially vital in a post-pandemic world.
• Regular Updates: Automated updates, ensuring businesses always have the latest features and security patches.

The Challenges of Managing a Plethora of SaaS Tools

While the rise of SaaS has definitely brought forth a great deal of benefits, it doesn’t come without its fair share of challenges and complexity. Nowadays, businesses are drowning in SaaS tools and instead of SaaS helping them achieve maximum efficiency, businesses now face the following challenges:

• Financial strain: Because companies are now heavily reliant on SaaS, they’re experiencing financial strain due to underutilized subscriptions, unexpected renewals, and redundant tools.
• Operational hurdles: Manual provisioning and de-provisioning of incoming and outgoing employees can be a hassle. Organizations around the world use an average of 130 SaaS tools. The manual process to provision and de-provision employees for each of those SaaS applications take hundreds of hours by employees with a lot of room for manual error.
• Security concerns: Each tool can potentially become a point of vulnerability if not managed correctly. Shadow IT is an increasing concern. Shadow IT is when employees use SaaS tools without the permission of the IT department and therefore without the knowledge of their management. Free trials may seem harmless, but the dangers are real as they can pose security risks and compromise your company’s sensitive data.

The Solution to Saas Overload and Complexity

The good news is there’s a foolproof way to enjoy as many SaaS tools as you need without experiencing any of the problems above. Using SaaS subscription tools like Talisman can help you run instant SaaS audits to automatically identify SaaS tools that are unused, underutilized, or redundant. That way, you can take action and end unnecessary subscriptions before they eat up another piece of your budgets.

When companies complete manual SaaS audits, it usually leads to miscommunication and inefficiencies due to the lack of coordinated software management. One of our clients, Bright Pink Agency, even mentioned that before they used Talisman, it would usually take them months to pull off a proper SaaS audit. They can now complete this is a few minutes.

Talisman also makes provisioning and deprovisioning users a breeze. In one centralized dashboard, you can set which SaaS tools a particular department should have access to and all members of that team will automatically be granted access. No more friction and miscommunication.

As for Shadow IT, it’s usually an inevitable problem with IT, Finance, and Operations departments working in silos. With Talisman, you can finally bring order to chaos. You can check on any new subscription that you haven’t authorized from your dashboard and identify which department or personnel is involved.

Talisman is an all-in-one solution to help businesses navigate and maximize the age of SaaS with efficiency and grace. A unified system for tracking and managing SaaS tools is the ultimate solution that is long overdue, and Talisman is here to fill the gap.

The importance of SaaS management cannot be overstated. SMBs need to protect their runway, and they can do that better with tools that promote cost savings, optimization, and operational efficiency.

Ready to embrace seamless SaaS management? Try Talisman for free and experience the difference!