Procurement

  • 7 min read

Upgrade Your SaaS Selection: The Ultimate Software Evaluation

Team Zluri

1st March, 2023

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Navigating the sea of SaaS license procurement can be overwhelming, but the key is to ask the right questions. Questions like, what features are essential to your business? What integrations are crucial to your workflow? What pricing model fits your budget? These are just a few key factors that must be considered when making a decision. 

However, identifying these key factors can be challenging without a clear action plan, making it difficult to find the appropriate solution. That's where a software evaluation checklist comes in handy!

Selecting the right software tool can be daunting, but making the right choice is critical for your business. Whether you want to improve productivity or enhance collaboration, finding the right SaaS solution can make all the difference. 

One of the biggest challenges of selecting a SaaS solution is the overwhelming number of options available. With so many vendors and solutions to choose from, it can take time to figure out where to start. Unfortunately, this can also lead to analysis paralysis, making it hard to make the right choice.

Further, comparing the features and pricing of different SaaS solutions is challenging. This can make it difficult to determine which solution will provide the best value for your investment.

This comprehensive guide takes you step-by-step through the process of evaluating and selecting a SaaS solution that meets your unique business requirements. It guides you through the selection process and helps you find the right SaaS solution for your business.

Simplified Software Evaluation In 4 Easy Steps 

By breaking down software evaluation into four simple steps, we offer you a clear roadmap to assess the suitability of your software tools. These steps help you make informed decisions while procuring various SaaS solutions.

1. Identify Organization's Specific Needs & Goals

Identifying the specific needs and goals of the organization is a crucial step in software evaluation. It helps ensure that the evaluated software meets the organization's unique objectives. Without a clear understanding of your organization's needs from the software, it can be difficult to evaluate whether a particular product will be the best fit.

But how can you determine or consider your company's needs while assessing the software?

So, several key factors help you to consider and identify your organization's needs. By considering these key factors, you can better understand what your organization requires to operate effectively.

For e.g., When it comes to customization, every organization has unique requirements, and software evaluation should consider those. Identifying the organization's specific needs makes it easier to evaluate whether a software solution can be customized to meet those needs. 

Or when it comes to compatibility, the software being evaluated needs to be compatible with the organization's existing systems and processes. Understanding the organization's needs and goals makes it possible to evaluate whether a software solution will integrate with the existing technology stack or not.

Below are the few key factors that must be considered to identify the specific needs of an organization:

• Functionality & technical aspects

Functionality refers to the set of features and capabilities that the software offers and how well it performs those functions. It is one of the most critical key factors in software evaluation because it determines whether it meets the organization's specific needs and requirements. 

Understanding how the software's features and capabilities align with the organization's unique needs and pain points is important.

To evaluate functionality, consider the specific challenges or pain points that the software can solve and whether it can provide the necessary level of automation for routine tasks. Identifying these factors makes it possible to determine whether the software's functionality can solve real problems and create value for the organization.

• Scalability & reliability

Scalability refers to the software's ability to handle increasing workloads and data volumes over time as the organization grows. At the same time, reliability refers to the software's ability to perform consistently and without failure. Evaluating these factors can help ensure that the software can meet the organization's current and future needs and will not experience downtime or performance issues.

• Customization & support

Customization refers to the ability to configure the software to meet the organization's specific needs and requirements. Whereas support refers to the level of assistance and technical support available to the organization. Evaluating these factors can help ensure that the software can be customized to meet the organization's unique needs and that adequate support will be available if any certain issue arises.

• Pricing & User experience 

Pricing refers to the cost of the software, including any ongoing subscription or licensing fees. It is crucial to consider when evaluating software solutions since ensuring that the software fits within the organization's budget is essential. It is important to note that software licenses may have both monthly and annual costs, and paying annually can often lead to discounted prices.

Further, user experience refers to how easy and intuitive the software is to use. Therefore, it can impact how easily users can adopt and use it. 

So, these are the important factors that help identify your organization's goals and evaluate the software that meets your needs. But all these can take a lot of time and effort. 

Is there any tool that helps in this step?

Well, yes! Zluri has an AI-driven SaaS management platform to understand your SaaS environment intuitively. It helps us to get insights into your SaaS landscape and further help with negotiation for the right tools. In addition, we are able to understand your organizational requirements and which SaaS tools you need. 

Our software evaluation process considers all the key factors necessary for selecting the right software solution for your organization. Then, your teams or departments choose the tools they want to simplify the work. 

After this, we assist you in negotiating the tools for the best price. We understand your purchase and renewal plan for the year. We consolidate the data on Zluri's platform with your purchase history and help you plan SaaS buying for the next 12 months.

2. Research Multiple Options Available With Different Vendors

If you want to get the best deal, this step is a must! By researching various software options available from different vendors, you can identify the range of available software options. This helps get an idea of the different types of software available, their features, and their prices.

Once a range of software options is identified, one can compare the features of each software product. This helps in understanding which features are common across different software products and which features are unique to a particular software product.

Further, by researching various vendors, one can understand their reputation in the market. This helps identify reliable vendors with a good track record in delivering quality SaaS products and providing good customer support.

How will Zluri be helpful here?

If you are currently searching for reliable SaaS vendors, you may find our curated list of such vendors to be highly useful. We have thoroughly researched and compiled this list to help you make an informed decision. Check Zluri's SaaS vendors list here and choose the most suitable SaaS vendors for your specific needs.

3. Estimate The Overall Cost Of Ownership (including both the upfront & hidden costs)

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a comprehensive measure of the total costs associated with owning and operating a product or service over its entire lifecycle. For example, for software products, TCO includes the initial purchase price and the costs associated with implementation, maintenance, upgrades, support, and eventual software replacement. 

By estimating the TCO of different software products, organizations can compare the costs of different options and select the one that provides the best value for their needs. This comprehensive view helps organizations to understand the true cost of ownership of a software product and to make informed decisions about software investments.

Zluri's zero-upfront cost approach

At Zluri, we understand the importance of making cost-effective decisions for your business. That's why we offer a unique, risk-free solution to help you save money on your SaaS purchases. With our zero upfront cost approach, you only pay us when we assist you with 2x savings - that's double the amount you pay us for our SaaS Buying service!

Here's how it works: If we guarantee and save you $36,000, you pay Zluri $18,000. And if we exceed the guaranteed savings amount, you still only pay us the same amount. But we'll refund the difference if we fall short of the guaranteed savings amount. So, for instance, if we save you $30,000 while guaranteeing $36,000 savings, you'll only pay us $15,000. This is what we call the "pay-when-you-save model" in our SaaS buying services.

4. Get Agreement From The Team Of Crucial Stakeholders

A crucial stakeholder is someone who significantly impacts the software implementation's success or failure, such as the organization's end-users, IT teams, department heads, and other key decision-makers. Getting agreement from a team of crucial stakeholders ensures everyone involved in the software selection process is on the same page. They have a shared understanding of the goals and criteria for software selection.

By involving these stakeholders in the software evaluation process and getting their agreement, you can ensure that their needs and requirements are taken into account and that the chosen software solution is a good fit for the organization as a whole.

Further, they can provide valuable insights and perspectives that may not have been considered otherwise. This can lead to better-informed decision-making and ultimately result in the selection of a software solution that meets the organization's needs.

Zluri collaborates with crucial stakeholders

At Zluri, we believe in working hand-in-hand with our customers, fostering a culture of transparency and trust. 

We collaborate closely with your team members to identify the SaaS tools that will simplify your work and streamline your processes. Our experts then assist you in negotiating the best possible price for your chosen tools, taking care of all the nitty-gritty details so that you can focus on what matters most.

We value your privacy and use your company's email ID for all SaaS buying negotiations, ensuring complete transparency and accountability. As your trusted partner, we place the utmost importance on data security, so you can rest assured that your sensitive information is safe. 

Zluri- An Ideal Procurement Partner For SaaS Negotiations

Are you tired of spending countless hours negotiating SaaS contracts? 

Zluri's SaaS buying is here to help! We offer a range of procurement-related services, including SaaS buying. Our expert procurement professionals can assist you in analyzing your SaaS requirements and making strategic decisions to optimize your investments.

We take care of all negotiations on your behalf, saving you precious time and money. In addition, our team ensures that you get the required SaaS applications at unbeatable discounted prices, giving you the best deal possible.

We empower your teams or departments to choose the tools they need to streamline their work. We help you secure the best deal on these tools and handle all aspects of the procurement process.

And that's only part of it - our services go beyond procurement. For example, we automatically eliminate any licenses or apps not being used from your existing subscriptions, helping you optimize your costs and maximize your savings.

At Zluri, we have 1 billion SaaS transaction data and know the typical cost that users pay for a specific SaaS app. As a result, we are well-versed in the SaaS marketplace and can assist you in finding the best SaaS stack for your company within your budget. 

We can also help you plan your SaaS procurement in advance, with potential savings of up to 50% on subscriptions and zero upfront costs. With our better terms and "pay-when-you-save model," you can optimize your SaaS investments and achieve maximum ROI.

Let us handle your SaaS procurement needs and help your business thrive!

To know more, book a demo today.

About the author

Team Zluri

Team Zluri