our businesses running when we couldn’t be in the office,” he said. “Digital transformation was accelerated and so was the adoption of SaaS along with it.” Now, almost every aspect of remote/hybrid work is controlled by SaaS apps because they make our lives much easier, Christopher said. “From collaboration tools and videoconferencing to those that automate more tedious tasks like booking calendars, scheduling social posts and more,” he continued, “SaaS tools have enabled businesses to thrive in the face of current and future problems by way of facilitating collaboration, people management, productivity management and sales support.” When it comes to making remote/hybrid work easier for the employee, it is all about choice, said Zylo’s CEO, “especially when tech stacks are individual to each organization and its needs.” organization from overspend or potential risks. We’re seeing organizations begin to adopt a new style of SaaS governance that helps IT leaders strike that balance.” MSPs Play Role Because SaaS management is an emerging discipline, and not every organization has the resources or expertise to manage all the software and apps they are using, managed service providers (MSP) have become an important option. “In terms of efficiency, letting an MSP manage SaaS often frees up your team’s resources to focus on other projects,” Christopher suggested. “When you work with a managed service provider to handle your SaaS management and optimization, you can rest assured knowing your technology stack is in the hands of experts who will help your organization mature its process over time. “Another key benefit of working with an MSP is that they often have aggregated data on SaaS tools and can provide that guidance to you and your team – information like the best tools for specific use cases, pricing data so you don’t overpay on licenses and how your tech stack compares to other organizations of your size,” Christopher continued. “That’s not something you can easily replicate on an individual level.” Of course, leveraging an MSP adds another layer to any internal process that already exists, Christopher acknowledged. “Good managed services partners will work closely with you to embed themselves in your organiBased on Zylo’s 2022 SaaS Management Index, “we’ve found that in organizations where more employees were expensing their own SaaS (i.e. employees choosing more of their own tools for dayto-day tasks), we also saw higher adoption rates of those tools,” Christopher revealed. “This leads us to believe that if you give the people what they want (or at least the option to choose), they will utilize their SaaS tools at higher levels than when tools are prescribed or given to them.” There is an opposite to this, as well. “Employers need to look for tools that ‘play well with others’ and integrate accordingly,” Christopher explained. “It’s amazing to be able to give your employees the choice of tools, but if those tools don’t talk to each other, it can prove ineffective and challenging. “Take project management tools for examples,” he continued. “This is a category where one size – or one tool – very often doesn’t fit all. Rather, you’ll see engineering teams use one tool, while marketing uses another, and product uses a different one entirely.” The ability to let those systems work with each other makes each team happier and helps keep the entire organization more productive, he continued. “One thing I will caution is that when it comes to SaaS, more isn’t always better,” Christopher said. “Organizations need to be able to enable some choice but still keep guardrails to ensure they aren’t purchasing 50-plus project management tools and protect the Experience Eric Christopher, CEO and co-founder of Zylo 25 REMOTE WORK SOLUTIONS rwsmagazine.com
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