Weighing the pros and cons of low-friction SaaS adoption

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Weighing the pros and cons of low-friction SaaS adoption

Is opting for a more gradual adoption of SaaS products the better way to go? Andy Boyd, CPO of collaborative tool Appfire takes a look.

Published on 21st November 2024

As organizations strive to balance autonomy with strategic oversight, they must continuously reassess their tech stacks in response to innovation and shifting trends. Increasingly, teams are selecting the best-of-breed software that allows them to work the way they want to work. According to Okta, a provider of identity management software, the average number of applications deployed is 93—a 4% increase year over year.

With this, more teams are opting to take a low-friction approach to SaaS adoption. In this context, low friction refers to the process of experimenting with software and applications that are easy for users to adopt, deploy and integrate into their existing workflows. It’s an approach that eliminates traditional barriers to software adoption with benefits like try-before-you-buy periods, freemium models and seamless integration with other applications.

This approach to software adoption can be highly beneficial. Enterprise software company Atlassian famously grows within organizations through an easy-to-try, easy-to-buy and easy-to-expand model (full disclosure: Atlassian is an Appfire partner). This model can start with a single team trying the software, finding value from it and then expanding widely across the organization. Other examples of this model include Calendly (scheduling) and Miro (whiteboard, collaboration) with a single team.

While teams love this newer model of SaaS adoption, it’s also important to consider that low-friction SaaS adoption has its pitfalls. So, before making a decision, it’s essential to weigh the benefits and risks of low-friction SaaS adoption to determine the approach that makes the most sense for your organization.

Let’s take a closer look and evaluate the pros and cons.

The Pros Of Low-Friction SaaS Adoption

By opting for a more gradual adoption of SaaS products at your organization, stakeholders may experience these notable productivity and workflow benefits:

1. Empowering teams with tailored solutions

Low-friction SaaS adoption enables teams to select software that suits their specific job functions, aligning technology with role demands and boosting productivity. By allowing them to explore advanced technologies, like AI, teams can automate routine tasks, freeing time for more creative work.

This approach reduces friction, increases operational efficiency and prevents wasted time on software that doesn’t meet their needs, which can enhance both job satisfaction and business impact.

2. Low risk, high flexibility

With low up-front financial commitments and no need for long-term contracts or hefty initial investments, teams can experiment with new products in a low-risk environment.

The “try before you buy” model encourages SaaS adoption by allowing teams to evaluate various software options through flexible pricing before committing to a full rollout, reducing financial risk and ensuring more strategic, cost-effective technology investments.

The Cons Of Low-Friction SaaS Adoption

Even with all of the positive aspects of a low-friction approach, scaling various SaaS solutions within an enterprise can introduce challenges, some of which include:

1. Risks of shadow IT and security vulnerabilities

When teams adopt unapproved software, known as shadow IT, it can create a patchwork of siloed apps that lead to integration challenges, communication breakdowns and heightened security risks such as data breaches, non-compliance with regulations and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Without proper IT oversight, this low-friction approach can leave organizations vulnerable to threats, making it critical to designate and centrally manage approved products to ensure both operational efficiency and security.

2. Potential cost and productivity disadvantages

While the flexibility of low-friction SaaS adoption can offer benefits financially, over time, if not approached with caution, it can also lead to cost barriers that may negatively impact your organization. As different teams adopt various software solutions independently, these small purchases can add up, leading to overspending or duplicated costs.

From a productivity standpoint, low-friction adoption can create silos where insights and benefits from one application are not shared across teams, resulting in inefficiencies. Without a unified strategy, the use of multiple unconnected products can prevent organizations from fully leveraging the potential of their technology stack, reducing the overall return on investment.

5 Tips To Maximize The Benefits

Taking a low-friction approach to SaaS adoption can offer significant benefits, but it’s important to assess whether this strategy aligns with your organization’s or team’s specific needs and business goals. Here are key considerations to ensure a successful implementation for the long term:

1. Understand your team’s needs and workflow

Allowing teams to experiment with new technologies through a low-friction approach may be well aligned with your operational processes. However, if your processes call for tighter controls and a standardized software stack, providing a structured set of boundaries helps to enable flexibility with control.

2. Evaluate risk tolerance

While low-friction SaaS products can effectively support innovation, they can also introduce security and data privacy risks. Organizations must put in place the proper security framework to ensure control and compliance while allowing for innovation where necessary.

3. Consider budget and cost implications

While the initial costs may be low, the cumulative effect of utilizing multiple SaaS products at one time can lead to overspending if not carefully managed. Ensure that your organization has the necessary budget oversight and cost-control measures in place before embracing this model.

4. Review interoperability and integration needs

If your organization relies on seamless interoperability across platforms, the introduction of unvetted software could cause inefficiencies. Organizations that approach this with a platform mindset and strong underlying IT infrastructure can support a variety of applications and integration, whereas others might struggle with integration issues.

5. Work with a trusted provider

Teams should be diligent when selecting their apps and look to work with trusted IT vendors that prioritize aspects like security and vetting apps before implementation.

Unlocking Your Organization's Potential

To truly unlock your organization’s potential, business leaders and technology decision-makers must thoughtfully evaluate the ROI of their software strategies, keeping business goals and user preferences in mind. Low-friction SaaS offers teams the opportunity to explore and find the apps that best fit their needs, but oversight and collaboration with IT leadership is important to minimize risk and reduce silos.

By considering this approach, you can avoid software that holds your organization back and instead empower your teams to innovate and grow with confidence.