Software as a Service, otherwise known as SaaS, is prevalent in every organization these days. Shadow IT, cost control and application security are just a few reasons your organization should be f=doing regular SaaS audits.
According to Gartner, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 18.4% in 2021 to total $304.9 billion, up from $257.5 billion in 2020, with software as a service (SaaS) remaining the largest market segment and is forecast to grow to $117.7 billion in 2021.
SaaS adoption is rampant with about 85% of small to midsize enterprises investing in SaaS Solutions today. With that adoption we typically see a lot of Shadow IT and duplicate applications (typically 4 duplicate subscriptions for every one that is approved). We also see that most small and mid-sized enterprise are churning about 30% of their SaaS products on a yearly basis, which basically means a need for onboarding, off-boarding, license management, security and cost controls.
By 2026, 50% of organizations using multiple SaaS applications will centralize management and usage metrics of these apps using an SMP (SaaS management platform) tool, an increase from less than 20% in 2021.
A SaaS Audit Checklist will help you get started.
As a result of a comprehensive SaaS audit program within the framework established by TeraCloud, the audit allows you to achieve several goals:
- Providing you with complete data on possible methods of penetration into the information system and the level of risk in various protection options;
- Planning different measures to reduce the level of risks – depending on the time span – urgent, medium-term, and long-term;
- Determination of the main directions for improving the information security system depending on the scope of the company
- Drawing up plans for obtaining international certificates in the field of information systems security
- Drawing up a reasonable financial plan for spending on information security and rationalizing costs
- Consulting activities with specialists in the information security department of the customer’s company, as well as the development of methodological manuals for ordinary employees
It is recommended to conduct a security audit of information systems at least once a year. If there is a frequent change in the structure of the company, the scope of activity, or the emergence of other security requirements, the audit should be carried out more often. This will allow the timely adoption of appropriate methods and new management decisions and minimize possible risks of hacking data systems
Gartner recommends:
- “Increase visibility into SaaS usage, improve manageability and automate repetitive SaaS Administration tasks, while improving consistency of securing identities and data across SaaS applications by adopting an SMP.
- Achieve the greatest efficiency benefits for IT by choosing the SMP that can support the majority of SaaS apps in use and that offers the greatest number of integration points in the functional pillars of greatest importance.
- Drive continuous improvement by leveraging the SMP to monitor and optimize SaaS license entitlements based on consumption and drive adoption of SaaS apps, and measure the performance of SaaS apps and integrated components.”
TeraCloud recommends doing a complete SAAS audit on a regular basis. In addition, ongoing monitoring and cost management of SAAS applications is imperative. To get started contact us today.
Resources:
- Market Guide for SaaS Management Platforms, Feb 2021 by Gartner
- Gartner Forecasts Worldwide Public Cloud End-User Spending to Grow 18% in 2021 – Press release by Gartner
