SaaS Sprawl: The Hidden Chaos In Your SaaS Stack

‍Are you still clinging to your unused/obsolete applications and letting them accumulate in your SaaS stack? If so, then you are unintentionally paving the way for SaaS sprawl. What is SaaS sprawl? In this article, we’ll discuss it in detail.

As per CloudZero’s 2024 survey, approximately 68% of businesses with less than 500 employees and 52% with more than 2000 employees are dealing with the chaos of SaaS sprawl. Since the figures are so high – it’s quite clear no company is safe! In fact, SaaS sprawl could be silently creeping into your organization as well without you even realizing it. However, you can prevent it from happening, but for that, you need to first understand what exactly SaaS sprawl is. So let’s find out.

What Is SaaS Sprawl?

SaaS sprawl refers to the phenomenon of the uncontrolled spread of SaaS applications within an organization. Generally, organizations unintentionally (without realizing how many apps they have) end up accumulating a large number of SaaS applications, which results in their SaaS stack becoming fragmented and unmanageable.

But what exactly causes SaaS sprawl?

Common Causes Of SaaS Sprawl

Here are some common reasons why SaaS sprawl occurs.

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• Lack Of Visibility Into SaaS Stack

Most organizations don't have a dedicated tool to monitor and manage their SaaS apps, so IT teams often remain unaware of these additions whenever users add a new app to the SaaS stack. As a result, applications continue to accumulate over time. Also, since the IT team doesn't have proper visibility (due to a lack of tools) into the SaaS stack, they fail to identify any redundant applications and remove them, which again lets such apps pile up without getting unaddressed.

• Reliance On Decentralized Procurement Setup

A decentralized procurement setup gives individual users the freedom to procure SaaS apps that they may find useful without consulting with IT teams or seeking approval for them. Since it has become much easier to procure and set up applications (without the need for technical expertise), users are now able to get an app of their choice.

This freedom and convenience, or the lack of a centralized procurement system (where users have to get permission from the IT team before procuring any app), often results in unchecked acquisition of redundant or duplicate applications, which later contributes to SaaS sprawl.

• Increase In Popularity of Bring Your Own Device Policies

Organizations are rapidly promoting the concept of BYOB, which gives users the flexibility to use their personal devices for work. However, this flexibility has become one of the major contributors to SaaS sprawl. This is because users install SaaS apps (that they prefer) on their personal devices without the IT team's knowledge. Since there is no application record in the IT system, these applications often go unnoticed, which later accumulates and makes organizations' tech stack unmanageable.

• SaaS Apps Acquisition To Meet Urgent Needs

At times, to wrap up urgent tasks, users quickly download (for temporary purposes) specific apps and use them to get the job done or to meet immediate deadlines. However, once the task is completed, they often forget to uninstall or delete those apps. As a result, such applications remain in the tech stack—like forever. Further, these one-time-used apps eventually pile up and contribute to SaaS app sprawl.

• When Organizations Gets In A Race To Keep Pace With Latest Trends

Most organizations feel compelled to adopt the latest technology and software to stay ahead of the competition or enhance their operational efficiency. Basically, there's a constant drive to ensure they are not falling behind in today's fast-paced technological environment.

However, in this rush to stay on top of trends, organizations often hastily acquire new SaaS apps without cross-checking whether they already have apps with similar features available in their SaaS stack. As a result, the accumulation of such apps eventually contributes to SaaS app sprawl.

After going through the causes, you may have a question—' Isn't SaaS sprawl the same as shadow IT?' While both issues occur when IT teams do not have knowledge of the apps being used, they are not actually the same. So, let's quickly understand what sets them apart.

Difference Between SaaS Sprawl & Shadow IT

Shadow IT occurs when a user procures and uses SaaS applications without the IT team's knowledge (in other words, without being approved or sanctioned by the IT teams). 

On the other hand, SaaS sprawl occurs when multiple SaaS applications (both sanctioned and unsanctioned) accumulate over time. This eventually results in uncontrollable growth of the SaaS stack, making it difficult for IT teams to manage it effectively.

Shadow IT concerns the unauthorized usage of SaaS apps, whereas SaaS sprawl concerns the uncontrolled growth in the number of SaaS applications. SaaS sprawl is a much broader issue, and shadow IT is one of the major contributors to it.

Now that you have gained clarity about this common misconception, let's proceed further and explore the impacts of SaaS app sprawl.

3 Major Impacts of SaaS Sprawl

Below we have mentioned some of the critical impacts caused by software sprawl:

1. Puts Data Security At Risk

Whenever users independently procure multiple unsanctioned SaaS applications, they often neglect to review the security aspect of the app and further continue to use and share sensitive data with it. There is no problem in using an application, but the real issue is that these applications are most of the time not secure to use (can be easily hacked by malicious actors). Also, they do not align with organizational security protocols. As a result, such application further exposes an organization's critical data to security breaches.

For example, users might sign up for a free, unsecured file-sharing app to speed up their work. However, these apps often lack essential security features like encryption. So whenever your user shares any type of sensitive data through them, the data will be at risk of getting exposed to security breaches.

2. Increases SaaS Spending

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Most of the time, users aren't fully aware of applications already available in their organization's SaaS stacks. As a result, they often end up buying new apps with duplicate functionality. Over time, these duplicate applications keep accumulating, and organizations end up in a cycle of unnecessary spending—paying for multiple apps that do the same thing. Later, these expenses kept increasing and significantly impacted and drained organizations' SaaS budgets. 

For example, you have two separate departments, marketing and product development. Each wants a project management tool. So, without coordinating and communicating with each other, they subscribe to different project management tools like Monday and Asana. As a result, organizations end up paying for applications that offer nearly the same functionality.

3. Operational Inefficiencies

When an organization's SaaS stack becomes overloaded with too many applications, it can create confusion for users. How? Users may struggle to decide which application to use to perform assigned tasks. As a result, they will spend more productive time figuring out which app to use instead of focusing on the actual tasks. This will impede users' productivity and delay and interrupt operations. 

For example, One team uses Slack for communication, while another prefers Microsoft Teams. As a result, important conversations and files are split between platforms, making it difficult to find information or coordinate between teams.

After going through the impacts, you may ask, "Is there even a way to mitigate software sprawl's impact?" Well, fortunately, there are ways to tackle software sprawl. Let's quickly explore them.

How To Overcome SaaS Sprawl?

Below we’ve mentioned a few steps that you can follow to overcome SaaS sprawl:

1: Create SaaS adoption guidelines

Start by creating a set of clear SaaS adoption guidelines and specify the following information— 

• List down SaaS apps that users can procure and ensure the approved list of applications meets security protocols, complies with regulatory standards, and genuinely adds value (which can actually be of use at work).
• Who will be assigned the responsibility/authority to evaluate and approve SaaS app procurement?

Note: Ideally, this set of roles should be assigned to either the IT or procurement department, as they know exactly what to look for regarding security, compliance, and how well a SaaS app aligns with organization needs. 

• Which SaaS apps are restricted from purchase and use?

By creating this policy, you can control which SaaS apps users can procure, install, and use and which they cannot. This proactive approach prevents the accumulation of unapproved applications in the SaaS stack, which further helps reduce the risk of breaches and software sprawl.

2: Create A Centralized Repository For All Your SaaS Apps

Next, create a single, well-organized repository for all SaaS apps in use. Make sure to include details such as the applications' names, who is using them, compliance data, vendor information, and other relevant data in your SaaS repository. But how do you create one?

To create a SaaS repository, you can either use a manual method, i.e., jot down all the details in a spreadsheet, which can be time-consuming and prone to error, or opt for a SaaS management platform like Zluri that will do the work for you—that too, efficiently. 

Zluri's SaaS management platform utilizes 9 distinct discovery methods to discover all the SaaS apps in use and consolidates all the SaaS app data in a centralized dashboard. The best part is that whenever a new app is added to the stack, Zluri's SMP automatically updates the information in the dashboard, ensuring IT teams always have access to the most up-to-date information for SaaS review.

Why is there a need to create a repository? SaaS repositories act as a 'single source of truth,' meaning they provide accurate and up-to-date information on every SaaS app in use. With this repository, you can gain full visibility into your SaaS stack and find out which apps are actively being used, which are unused, and whether there are any duplicate apps (apps with overlapping functionalities). Further, by reviewing these insights, you can easily determine which apps are no longer needed and should be eliminated. This way, you can maintain a SaaS stack that includes only the apps that truly add value. Also, this practice will reduce unnecessary SaaS spending and minimize the risk of software sprawl.

3: Conduct A SaaS Review Periodically

Lastly, conduct periodic reviews of SaaS applications, be it quarterly, biannually, or annually, whatever suits your business the best. By performing this review, you will be able to easily identify which apps are newly added to the stack without the IT team’s approval. You can immediately review them and find out whether they are needed or not or whether they bring forth any security risks. 

That’s not all! These reviews also give you valuable insights regarding app usage patterns. You can utilize these insights to determine which apps are no longer relevant, eliminate them accordingly, and prevent obsolete applications from piling up.

Also Read: 6 SaaS Management Mistakes to Avoid

Properly Control & Manage SaaS App Procurement To Prevent SaaS Sprawl

We understand that adding new innovative apps to your SaaS stack is important every now and then to make your workflow more streamlined (basically to attain better operational performance). However, clinging to redundant, duplicate, and obsolete SaaS applications and letting them pile up — is not a good practice! You only cluttered your SaaS stack and introduced major risks like SaaS sprawl. As we’ve already discussed, software sprawl has some severe impacts, like — bringing forth security threats, draining your SaaS budget, and impacting your operational efficiency. 

So, to avoid the consequences, you have to take action at the right time! For example, create a standard set of SaaS adoption guidelines, set up repositories for better visibility, adopt tools like Zluri, and regularly conduct reviews to prevent redundant and obsolete applications from piling up. Moreover, by following these practices, you can maintain a SaaS stack that adds true value and eliminates the risk of software sprawl.

Moreover, don’t fall victim to SaaS app sprawl — perform necessary actions and take charge of your SaaS stack.

Also Read: Group Sprawl: What Is It & How To Fix It?

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