SaaS Optimization Checklist Every IT Team Needs

Are you an IT admin managing a growing stack of SaaS tools in a large enterprise with 1000s of employees?

If so, you may have noticed several challenges, such as unused software licenses accumulating and employees subscribing to new SaaS tools (Notion, Canva, Bamboo HR & more) without informing you, which raises your annual SaaS costs.

To regain control of your SaaS environment, every IT team needs a clear SaaS Optimization Checklist to maximize their SaaS ROI.

This guide walks you through the SaaS optimization checklist that you can use immediately to govern your unmanaged SaaS apps.

Key Takeaways:

  • A SaaS optimization can help IT teams take full control of their SaaS stack.
  • Modern SaaS optimization focuses on optimizing SaaS usage, right-sizing software licenses, and offering intelligent user automation.
  • When you use our modern SaaS optimization platform, CloudFuze Manage, you can reduce your manual IT workload and optimize your company’s SaaS spend effortlessly.

What SaaS Optimization Actually Means and Why It Matters for IT Teams?

SaaS optimization is about making sure your organization uses the right kind of SaaS tools at the right cost and with the appropriate level of governance.

SaaS optimization matters for IT teams because it helps you:

  • Cut avoidable software expenses through a SaaS cost optimization platform.
  • Right-size your license usage with smarter SaaS license management.
  • Reduce security risks tied to shadow IT activities.
  • Automate repetitive IT workflows such as employee onboarding & offboarding.
  • Forecast future IT budgets more accurately with SaaS spend optimization.

With our all-in-one SaaS & AI app management platform, CloudFuze Manage, IT admins can gain full transparency into how your organization uses SaaS & AI applications and make more informed, data-driven cost-saving decisions in a single dashboard.

How Modern SaaS Optimization Differs from Traditional Software Optimization?

Feature Modern SaaS Optimization Traditional Software Optimization
License Type Manages monthly changing SaaS subscription tiers Manages fixed, perpetual software licenses
Renewal Cycle Handles automatic, frequent subscription renewals Handles predictable software update cycles
Optimization Focus Optimizes user-based SaaS licensing and usage Optimizes hardware, servers, and local installations
App Environment Involves multiple cloud apps serving similar functions Involves distinct on-prem applications
Usage Patterns Monitors fluctuating SaaS usage across teams Tracks stable, installation-based software usage
Primary Goals Reduces cost, improves user access control, boosts app adoption, and strengthens SaaS governance Improves software performance, storage efficiency, and compute power
Primary Goals Reduces cost, improves user access control, boosts app adoption, and strengthens SaaS governance Improves software performance, storage efficiency, and compute power
Management Method Relies on a SaaS management platform and user automation Relies on manual tools, system logs, and spreadsheets
License Allocation Continuously right-sizes your cloud-based software licenses Purchases fixed licenses with limited reallocation
Oversight Needs Requires ongoing, active SaaS app monitoring Requires occasional software optimization
Scalability Can be scaled with the help of intelligent automation Can often scale with limited features manually with traditional tools

In order to get the most out of your modern SaaS optimization, follow the SaaS optimization checklist below.

Essential SaaS Optimization Checklist Every IT Team Must Know

Use this checklist to regain control of your SaaS environment and keep it optimized throughout the year.

1. Create a Centralized SaaS Inventory

First, make sure to discover every SaaS application (both trusted and shadow IT) in a single centralized dashboard for IT license optimization. When you centralize your organization’s app data, you can:

  • See SaaS usage patterns clearly.
  • Identify redundant software tools.
  • Track user license allocation.
  • Understand your total SaaS footprint.

This unified dashboard becomes your single source of truth.

2. Monitor License Usage and User Activity

You save the most when you actively manage your software licenses. So, prioritize to keep track of your:

  • Inactive SaaS users.
  • Underutilized software license seats.
  • Over-provisioned SaaS licenses.
  • Overlapping SaaS tools.
  • Orphaned user licenses from offboarded employees.

By doing this, SMBs and large enterprises can prevent SaaS license waste and right-size their subscriptions based on real usage.

3. Find and Eliminate Redundant SaaS Tools

Almost every organization uses multiple cloud-based SaaS tools for the same functions. If your teams use Slack and Microsoft Teams, you’re paying twice for similar capabilities.

So, your checklist should include:

  • Reviewing overlapping app features every quarter.
  • Evaluating SaaS user adoption and satisfaction regularly.
  • Consolidating overlapping apps into your preferred platform.
  • Cancelling redundant SaaS subscriptions.

These simple steps support your SaaS spend optimization goals.

4. Automate User Onboarding/ Offboarding and Stay Secure

Manually provisioning and de-provisioning users is a time-consuming and error-prone task.

With automated user onboarding and offboarding, you can:

  • Assign software licenses based on work roles.
  • Reclaim unused software licenses when employees leave the organization.
  • Prevent data leakage and eradicate manual provisioning/de-provisioning work.

Intelligent user workflow automation secures your organization’s SaaS ecosystem and reduces costs without requiring constant manual IT intervention.

5. Track Subscription Renewals Proactively

Instead of reacting to last-minute auto-renewals, you can stay ahead by:

  • Setting automatic reminders for renewal dates.
  • Reviewing SaaS usage before renewal.
  • Cancelling or downgrading based on actual business needs.
  • Cancelling low-value or unused SaaS apps.

Our SaaS spend management tool, CloudFuze Manage, makes your subscription renewal a breeze by sending automated alerts.

How IT Teams Can Implement the SaaS Optimization Checklist with CloudFuze Manage

You’ll get the most value from this checklist when you integrate our SaaS & AI app management platform, CloudFuze Manage, with your everyday IT operations.

Here’s how our SaaS & AI app management platform replaces manual SaaS app tracking for your IT teams:

  • IT teams can easily discover every app in your SaaS environment so you can identify shadow IT immediately.
  • IT admins can customize workflow templates for user provisioning, deprovisioning, and employee role changes.
  • You can set renewal alerts to right-size your software licenses well ahead of the auto-renewals and save up to 30% on your SaaS spend.
  • IT admins can automate employee deprovisioning to reclaim orphaned SaaS user licenses instantly and maintain SaaS security.
  • IT teams can review their SaaS ecosystem regularly on a single dashboard to detect any SaaS usage trend changes and avoid unnecessary subscription costs.

Also, a special feature of our platform, the AI-powered invoice parser, automatically extracts your invoice data and maps it into our platform for smart license management.

Regain Complete Control of Your SaaS Ecosystem with CloudFuze Manage

When you follow the SaaS Optimization Checklist above, you give your IT team the clarity and control it needs to manage your ever-expanding cloud ecosystem.
With our SaaS & AI app management solution, CloudFuze Manage, IT teams can take a proactive approach to keep their SaaS stack lean as well as efficient.

Interested in knowing how you can optimize your SaaS stack with CloudFuze Manage? Contact us now to schedule your free demo!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Mention top platforms for SaaS usage analytics and optimization.

Our SaaS & AI app management platform, CloudFuze Manage, is one of the top platforms that provides SaaS usage analytics and license optimization recommendations on a single platform.

2. How to integrate SaaS performance monitoring in workflows?

You can use our SaaS monitoring tool, CloudFuze Manage, in your existing workflows. Currently, we are supporting over 60 popular SaaS & AI apps. Some of them are:

  1. Tableau
  2. Google Workspace
  3. Notion
  4. Bill.com
  5. Vimeo
  6. Postman
  7. Atlassian
  8. Microsoft 365
  9. Slack
  10. Cursor
  11. ChatGPT
  12. Workday
  13. Salesforce
  14. Stripe
  15. Zendesk and a lot more

3. Which companies offer SaaS spend management solutions?

Our company, CloudFuze, offers a SaaS spend management solution, CloudFuze Manage, that intelligently tracks your SaaS & AI app licenses and provides potential savings insights based on app usage in a single, intuitive dashboard.

Take Control of Your SaaS Stack Today

Use CloudFuze Manage to securely manage all your SaaS apps. Manage users and licenses, optimize spending, cut unnecessary costs, identify and eliminate shadow IT, ensure compliance, and do a whole lot more!