3 SaaS Management Opportunities for 2024 with Matt Harney (Cloud Ratings)

In 2023, organizations spent an average of $45M on SaaS. Yet, $18M of that is wasted. This isn’t chump change – it’s your second largest operating expense. That’s why we’re calling 2024 the year of opportunity for software management. Between rampant license waste, heightened security risks, and surplus of renewals, it’s hard not to feel like you’re treading water. Add in rising vendor costs and tight budgets, and you’re soon gasping for breath. In this episode, Zylo co-founder Ben Pippenger and Cloud Ratings founder Matt Harney examine trends from the 2024 SaaS Management Index and how IT, Software Asset Management, and Procurement leaders overcome these headwinds and come out on top.Key Takeaways[00:00 - 01:12] Episode overview, introducing guest Matt Harney from software research analyst firm Cloud Ratings on the state of SaaS stacks[01:11 - 03:50] What to focus on in 2024, rallying behind SaaS management, and more on Matt's background[03:51 - 04:36] Covering trends in the SaaS Management Index Report[04:36 - 06:05] Employee purchases and "Shadow IT"[06:05 - 07:04] Risk and spend are huge for SaaS, from cost and data perspectives[07:02 - 07:49] Stacks are shrinking, prioritizing SaaS as a strategy[07:49 - 08:58] Stats on SaaS rationalization[08:58 - 10:47] Three key opportunities to calm SaaS chaos[10:47 - 13:36] Matt talks about cloud cost optimization maturity throughout the years, trends he sees[13:37 - 15:26] Different pricing models for software, and the rise of fin-ops[15:28 - 16:34] What inning is SaaS management in?[16:33 - 19:06] Cost per employee in SaaS and NRR[19:08 - 20:05] NRR and pandemic bloat, a sign of digital transformation?[21:04 - 22:42] Improving SaaS governance[22:42 - 25:13] How Netflix is tackling SaaS governance[25:13 - 26:09] Decentralization in SaaS, talking about Lindsay Stokes from Netflix and last season's episode[26:09 - 27:05] Adopting AI[27:05 - 29:05] The AI Interest Index[29:06 - 30:25] Enabling employees to be responsible with SaaS purchasing