Productiv analyzed how nearly 100 million SaaS licenses were used over the last three years – including more than 100 billion app usage data points to produce an in-depth look at pivotal SaaS stats and insights on SaaS growth, spend, consolidation and usage.
“Our data demonstrate the path to immediate action for CFOs is to better identify and consolidate SaaS apps, given the cost reduction pressures currently facing every company,” said Jody Shapiro, CEO of Productiv.
“Buying and renewing software never stops, but the best procurement practices require collaborative decisions using data across IT, procurement, finance and functional leadership on what software to purchase, renew, downsize and consolidate,” Shapiro added.
During a time when companies have been looking closely at cost control, Productiv found that SaaS portfolios still continued to grow 32% between 2021 and 2023 to reach an all-time high: organizations now use 371 SaaS apps on average.
Data suggest that businesses have tried to establish better procurement and governance practices around SaaS, as shadow IT dropped by 8% from 2022. But employees and lines of business continue to purchase their own software outside of IT control at high rates — 51% of SaaS apps in organizations still remain shadow IT — indicating that there is much room for improvement.
According to Productiv’s data, one-year contracts increased annually as a proportion of all contracts from 79% in 2020 to 85% in 2022, suggesting companies are avoiding being locked into an app and its associated cost if their needs change.
However $9.6K per employee will be spent on SaaS apps in 2023 by the average organization, with small businesses paying 49% more per employee than large enterprises, while only 47% of SaaS licenses are used over a 90-day period on average.
Productiv found popularity of ChatGPT has skyrocketed with key use cases including writing emails and marketing content, summarizing meeting notes, researching issues, writing code and finding coding bugs.
The departments using ChatGPT the most include marketing (10th), engineering (9th) and product (10th). Productiv found an 11% reduction in the number of SaaS apps across key categories in 2023, such as project management and recruitment tools, indicating that businesses are focusing on app consolidation. However, the average number of apps per category is still higher than it was in 2021.
“Given our report reveals widespread shadow use of ChatGPT, it’s time for companies to figure out how to foster innovation using ChatGPT without security risks,” said Aashish Chandarana, CIO of Productiv.
“To avoid shadow IT, organizations need to develop appropriate SaaS governance policies that help teams take their free and purchased apps out of the shadows and ensure the right level of corporate policies for procurement, security and compliance,” Chandarana concluded.
"*" indicates required fields
Software Asset Management is a business practice that involves managing and optimising the life cycle of software within an organisation.
Software asset management is relevant to many facets of a business - take a look at some of the roles that it can form part of the focus of.
Software vendors come in all shape and sizes - all with their own set of licensing models and rules. We take a look at just a few of them.
As a constantly evolving subject, SAM is not without its challenges. We take a look at some of the most common ones.
Wondering what an investment in SAM could do for your business? Fill out a few details and find out what return you could get!
Answer a few questions about your SAM infrastructure & experience, and we'll put together a personalised recommendation for the future.
A simple health check of what's being used across your Office 365 estate in this FREE, Microsoft backed and easy to setup review.
Just like you would with your vehicle each year, get an annual check up of your software asset management programme.
Overwhelmed by the task of documenting the steps for a successful SAM programme? Get the experts in to help!
Concerned your SAM tools aren't covering your whole estate? Or on the look out for an entirely new tool? Get us in to assist.
Not content with covering all things SAM related, we've teamed up with Capital to provide a comprehensive hardware asset management review.
A simple, one-time reconciliation of the software you have deployed versus the licence entitlement you own.
A regularly scheduled analysis of your organisation's estate, specifically adapted to your needs and budget.
A full appraisal of your Microsoft 365 setup and how best to optimise it through automated recommendations.
An add-on to our SAMplicity One, MOT and Plus offerings, quickly diagnose your ability to migrate your resources to the cloud.
In collaboration with law firm Addleshaw Goddard, ensure the legality of your SAM programme and get assistance with any contract disputes.
Available as standard with SAMplicity Plus, ensure you're compliant if you're unexpectedly audited by a vendor.
We've teamed up with some of the forefront experts in licensing knowledge so you can teach yourself to be an expert too.
Stumped by the continually evolving complexities of SAM? Join us for one of our comprehensive courses, either in-person or online.
It’s chock full of useful advice, exclusive events and interesting articles. Don’t miss out!