Zluri vs BetterCloud: 5 Key Comparisons

Managing SaaS applications has become increasingly crucial for organizations to maintain efficiency and security. Zluri and BetterCloud emerge as two prominent contenders of SaaS management platforms, each offering robust solutions tailored to streamline SaaS management complexities.

As leading SaaS management platforms, BetterCloud and Zluri excel in providing essential features for monitoring SaaS usage, managing spend, mitigating software risks, and automating software renewal management.

While initially seeming similar in functionality, their distinct approaches set them apart. To determine the optimal solution between BetterCloud and Zluri, it's crucial to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of their key features and operational methodologies.

Zluri’s SaaS management platform

Bettercloud’s SaaS management platform

In this comparison, we'll analyze BetterCloud vs Zluri across various parameters, enabling organizations to determine which SaaS management tool best aligns with their specific needs.

Zluri vs BetterCloud: 5 Parameters to Compare

When evaluating SaaS management platforms- Zluri vs BetterCloud, it's crucial to consider various factors that can significantly impact their effectiveness within your organization.

1. Application Discovery

While both BetterCloud and Zluri boast discovery features aimed at tracking SaaS applications within the organization, they employ distinct methods to achieve comprehensive SaaS visibility.

• BetterCloud's discovery method leverages OAuth and Single Sign-On to identify and track SaaS applications within your environment. By monitoring OAuth access and SSO activity, BetterCloud provides insights into the usage and integration of various applications, helping organizations manage and secure their SaaS ecosystem effectively.

Discovery method 1: Discovers SaaS apps with OAuth:

• BetterCloud's discovery process, OAuth is used to identify applications that have been granted direct API access through one of your integrations.
• When a user grants OAuth access to an application, it means the application can interact with your integrated services (such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Dropbox, etc.) on behalf of the user.
• BetterCloud periodically scans the integrated services to identify applications that have been granted OAuth access. These scans occur once every 24 hours to maintain an up-to-date inventory of connected applications.
• By monitoring OAuth access, BetterCloud can detect and track the usage of various applications within your ecosystem.

Discovery Method 2: Discovers SaaS apps using Single Sign-On (SSO):

• BetterCloud's discovery process, SSO, is used to identify applications that have been accessed using SSO credentials from a connected identity provider (IdP) integration.
• When a user logs into an application using SSO, the authentication process is handled by the identity provider (such as Okta, OneLogin, etc.), which verifies the user's credentials and grants access to the application.
• BetterCloud monitors SSO activity and identifies applications that have been accessed through SSO from any connected identity provider integration.
• Similar to OAuth, BetterCloud conducts regular scans to capture SSO activity and maintain an accurate inventory of connected applications.

On the other hand, Zluri employs nine distinct discovery methods to ensure accurate and comprehensive SaaS visibility, unlike BetterCloud.

• Zluri’s discovery methods include:
• SSOs & IDPs: Zluri integrates with Single Sign-On (SSO) and Identity Provider (IDP) systems like Okta and Google Workspace. SSO acts as a centralized access point, while IDP maintains user access permissions and interactions, providing a complete view of app usage.
• Finance Tools: Integration with finance tools like Netsuite and QuickBooks allows Zluri to track SaaS apps purchased using corporate or personal cards. This reveals apps bought without IT oversight.
• Direct Integration: Zluri directly retrieves data from sources, capturing usage patterns and user access details, offering a comprehensive view of the SaaS stack.
• Desktop Agents (optional): Zluri's desktop agents monitor app installations, sign-ins, and usage on computers, providing insights into all SaaS apps used across the organization.
• Browser Agents (optional): Integration with browser agents tracks user interactions, capturing visited websites and active browser tabs, offering visibility into web-based tools and apps.
• MDM Platforms: Zluri integrates with Mobile Device Management platforms to track installed apps on mobile devices, contributing to understanding the SaaS landscape.
• CASB Platforms: Integration with Cloud Access Security Broker platforms monitors data flows between the organization and cloud services, identifying SaaS apps used and ensuring compliance.
• HRMS Platforms: Integration with Human Resource Management System platforms manages employee data, providing insights into apps utilized for productivity and collaboration.
• Active Directories: Integration with Active Directory serves as a centralized directory for user data and permissions, offering insights into user logins and access patterns, aiding in identifying SaaS applications used by employees.

• Zluri’s nine discovery methods
• But how does this work?
• Identifying Hidden Apps: Zluri's finance tools integration enables tracking of applications purchased by employees using corporate or personal cards, revealing applications bought without IT oversight, thus minimizing shadow IT risks.
• Real-time Monitoring: By leveraging direct integrations, desktop agents, browser extensions, and MDM platforms, Zluri offers real-time monitoring of SaaS usage activities across various devices and platforms.
• Cloud Security Compliance: Integration with CASB platforms ensures compliance with cloud security standards while identifying all SaaS applications accessed by employees, enhancing data security and governance.
• Workforce Productivity Insights: Integration with HRMS platforms provides insights into applications associated with workforce productivity and collaboration, aiding in optimizing software usage and licensing costs.
• Centralized Data Management: Active Directories serve as centralized directories for user data and permissions, facilitating insights into user logins and access patterns across the organization.
• Redundancy Mitigation: Zluri's multi-method approach mitigates redundancy risks by ensuring that even if one discovery method misses certain applications, others will detect them, guaranteeing a thorough discovery process.These Zluri's diverse and comprehensive discovery methods contribute to achieving 100% visibility into the organization's SaaS stack. According to KuppingerCole, Zluri "provides a single source of truth for all SaaS applications in an organization. They minimize oversight and maximize efficiency in managing SaaS applications.

2. License Management

• Under license management, BetterCloud offers tools and strategies aimed at optimizing SaaS expenditure and ensuring compliance. Here’s its license management approach:
• Identification of Redundant Licenses: BetterCloud assists in identifying redundant licenses within the SaaS ecosystem, aiding organizations in optimizing their software usage without unnecessary duplication.
• Centralized Control and Monitoring: BetterCloud's platform offers centralized control and monitoring capabilities, allowing IT administrators to oversee license usage, ensure compliance with agreements, and streamline management processes for improved efficiency.
• Standardization and Consolidation: BetterCloud promotes the standardization of preferred applications and the consolidation of licenses under enterprise agreements. This approach reduces complexity, facilitates easier management, and potentially leads to volume discounts.
• Empowering IT Decision-Making: BetterCloud provides IT decision-makers with data-driven insights and actionable recommendations, enabling informed decisions that align with organizational objectives and fiscal responsibilities. This empowers IT teams to make strategic choices regarding license allocation and utilization.
• Conversely, Zluri revolutionizes SaaS license management by centralizing all your applications and licenses into one comprehensive dashboard. This intuitive platform not only organizes your licenses but also provides invaluable insights into app usage, active metrics, and user counts, empowering efficient license management.Unlike Bettercloud, Zluri employs advanced capabilities to optimize SaaS license management:
• Rationalization of SaaS: Zluri employs intelligent algorithms to identify duplicate or similar applications, thereby eliminating redundancy effortlessly and reducing SaaS wastage.
• Rightsizing based on Usage Patterns: By analyzing user access patterns, Zluri identifies underutilized applications, facilitating smooth downsizing to appropriate tiers. This strategic approach maximizes utilization and minimizes costs, ensuring optimal resource allocation.
• Automated License Reclamation: Zluri automates the process of identifying and reclaiming unused licenses, streamlining operations. Through predefined usage thresholds, Zluri effortlessly identifies suboptimal licenses, enabling swift action.
• Precise License Forecasting: Leveraging sophisticated historical analysis and predictive models, Zluri accurately forecasts future license requirements. This proactive approach empowers organizations to plan budgets confidently, minimizing uncertainties and optimizing resource allocation.
• Comprehensive Compliance Monitoring: Zluri offers robust compliance monitoring features, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements and internal policies. Through real-time monitoring and alerts, organizations can mitigate compliance risks and maintain data integrity across all SaaS applications, fostering a secure and compliant IT environment.Zluri's innovative platform simplifies SaaS management, leading to significant cost savings. It also facilitates efficiency gains and provides compliance assurance, positioning it as the preferred choice for forward-thinking organizations. Zluri's comprehensive approach addresses the complexities of modern software ecosystems, ensuring seamless license management and regulatory compliance.

3. Spend Management

• BetterCloud's spend management capabilities provide organizations with a robust solution to efficiently monitor, optimize, and regulate their expenditure on SaaS applications. Here's how it operates:
• Centralized Data Aggregation: BetterCloud aggregates data from diverse sources, including accounting, financial, and Single Sign-On (SSO) systems, into a unified platform. This consolidation offers a comprehensive overview of an organization's SaaS spending ecosystem.
• Identifying Redundancies and Overspending: Leveraging advanced analytics, the platform identifies redundancies, overspending instances, and inefficient resource allocations across various SaaS applications. By analyzing usage patterns and license agreements, BetterCloud enables pinpoint accuracy in identifying areas for cost optimization.
• Tailored Cost Optimization Strategies: Drawing from analyzed data, BetterCloud offers tailored cost optimization strategies customized to the unique needs of each organization. These strategies may include rightsizing SaaS sprawl, renegotiating contracts, or consolidating licenses to drive significant cost savings.
• On the other hand, Zluri provides your team with complete visibility and control over all software, ensuring that you only pay for what you need. This single platform offers advanced features to optimize SaaS spend, which include:
• Enhances Financial Transparency: With Zluri, your team gains access to all software spending data in one centralized location, even those purchased outside the IT team's purview. This comprehensive overview ensures precise understanding of software spends, facilitating better spend management and informed decision-making.
• Real-Time Cost Optimization: Zluri generates insightful reports based on financial data and usage metrics, enabling your team to understand how money is being spent on software. Armed with real-time insights, your team can optimize costs effectively, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently.
• Uncover Hidden App Spends: Zluri discovers and manages all elusive hidden app spends, ensuring comprehensive visibility into your software usage across departments. These hidden costs might not be immediately apparent, but Zluri's functionality ensures they are discovered and brought into view. Zluri provides your finance team with cost and actual spend (YTD) data, helping them identify differences and obtain accurate hidden expense data. By providing hidden app spend insights, Zluri enhances transparency and understanding of overall expenses related to software usage across different departments within an organization.
• Streamlining Budget Allocation: Zluri ensures internal budgets and cost centers align based on actual spending data. Through automated chargebacks, your team gains the ability to monitor costs across departments, applications, users, and more.
• Negotiate Better with Price Benchmarking: Zluri helps optimize expenses by negotiating favorable software deals in alignment with industry standards. This ensures you acquire the best value while renewing licenses and contracts.
• Reconcile True-Ups with Contract Costs: Zluri ensures that true-ups align seamlessly with contracted costs based on actual usage in the contracted terms at predetermined intervals.
• Optimization summary: Zluri's optimization summary feature offers more than just a surface-level view; it delves deep into spend optimization and uncovers potential cost-saving avenues.

• By analyzing historical usage patterns, it provides actionable insights that go beyond estimating wastage, identifying substantial opportunities for savings. This includes a comprehensive breakdown of both potential and realized savings. With such detailed analysis at hand, your team can make informed decisions, ensuring efficient spend management and optimized budgets.

4. Application Security

• BetterCloud plays a crucial role in enhancing application security through several key features and functionalities:
• Detection of Unsanctioned Apps: BetterCloud actively monitors the network for any new, unsanctioned applications. It promptly alerts IT administrators upon detection, enabling them to take immediate security measures to mitigate potential risks.Through the Discover module, BetterCloud assists organizations in uncovering a wide range of SaaS applications accessing their environments. This comprehensive visibility helps identify and manage potential security threats more effectively.
• Alerts for Suspicious Activity: BetterCloud generates alerts when employees use company credentials to log into suspicious third-party applications. This proactive approach allows IT to promptly respond to potential security breaches and take necessary actions to protect sensitive data.
• Automated Response Workflows: BetterCloud triggers automated workflows to mitigate risks upon receiving alerts for unauthorized app access. These workflows may include logging the employee out of the unauthorized app and sending them educational emails about the risks associated with using unsanctioned applications.
• Communication and Collaboration: BetterCloud emphasizes fostering open lines of communication between IT and employees to address shadow IT challenges. It encourages employees to report unsanctioned technology use without feeling intimidated, thereby turning potential security weaknesses into opportunities for innovation.
• Zluri excels in app security in the following ways:
• Enhancing Data Protection: Zluri takes a proactive approach to app security by categorizing applications based on their risk and threat scores, effectively identifying critical applications that may pose security concerns.In the event of any application falling below security and compliance standards, Zluri empowers your team to restrict access, safeguarding your organization's data and shielding other apps from potential repercussions.

Also Read: How to Eliminate Shadow IT | Zluri

• Mitigating Shadow IT Risks: Unlike conventional methods, Zluri employs nine distinct discovery methods to identify SaaS apps within your organization, significantly reducing the likelihood of shadow IT occurrences. This comprehensive approach ensures thorough and accurate identification of all SaaS applications in use, minimizing the potential for overlooked or unauthorized software within the organizational ecosystem.
• App Launcher Access Requests: Zluri offers an app launcher and access request feature, comprising pre-verified and approved SaaS apps endorsed by the IT department. This reduces the risk of shadow IT, as employees can easily request access to specific apps not available in the catalog.

• Once approved, IT swiftly provides access, enhancing employee productivity by eliminating delays and preventing unauthorized app acquisitions.
• Real-Time Alerts: Zluri provides real-time alerts whenever unauthorized users attempt to access applications, enabling IT teams to swiftly respond and implement preventive measures against potential security threats. These timely notifications empower IT teams to take immediate actions such as blocking access, investigating breaches, or implementing security measures, ensuring the safety of sensitive data.

5. Customer Ratings

BetterCloud:

• G2: 4.4/5
• Capterra: 4.1/5

Zluri:

• G2: 4.8/5
• Capterra: 4.9/5

Both BetterCloud vs Zluri receive positive ratings from customers, indicating high satisfaction levels with their respective offerings. Zluri edges slightly ahead with slightly higher ratings on both G2 and Capterra platforms.

These ratings reflect the effectiveness and reliability of both solutions in meeting customer needs and expectations.

Choosing the Right Tool for Streamlining SaaS Management

Both BetterCloud and Zluri offer robust solutions for managing SaaS environments, each with its unique strengths tailored to the needs of modern organizations.

Ultimately, the choice between BetterCloud vs Zluri depends on the specific requirements and priorities of your organization. Whether you prioritize comprehensive automation, deep integrations, and centralized security management with BetterCloud, or intuitive user experience, proactive compliance insights, and application security with Zluri, both solutions offer effective tools to optimize SaaS operations and ensure regulatory compliance.

FAQs

1. What factors should you consider when choosing a tool for SaaS management?

Consider factors such as the tool's feature set, ease of use, integrations with your existing SaaS applications, security measures, compliance capabilities, and scalability to meet your organization's current and future needs.

2. How do you know if your organization needs a SaaS management tool?

If your organization is struggling with manual processes for SaaS administration, experiencing compliance challenges, or facing difficulties in controlling costs and optimizing application usage, it may be time to consider implementing a SaaS management tool.

3. How can I ensure a smooth transition when implementing a SaaS management tool?

To ensure a smooth transition, involve key stakeholders from IT, security, compliance, and finance departments early in the process. Provide comprehensive training for users, customize the tool to fit your organization's workflows, and gradually roll out features to minimize disruption.

4. What type of support is available when using a SaaS management tool?

Both BetterCloud and Zluri offer customer support services to assist users with implementation, troubleshooting, and ongoing maintenance. This may include online documentation, knowledge bases, tutorials, and dedicated customer support representatives to address any issues or concerns.

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