About a decade ago, Marc Andreeseen now famously stated that “software is eating the world.” Fast forward to 2022, and it’s safe to say that software is devouring every aspect of our daily lives.
Industries have become dependent on software now more than ever. Indeed, it has become impossible to run a business without dozens of software applications across disciplines.
SaaS based software has made everything in a business easier - from tracking order fulfillment, understanding the marketing funnel, sales cycle automation, financial performance and endless IT processes just to name a few.
Then the pandemic poured fuel over the fire creating an absolute dependency on cloud software for teams to work remotely and collaboratively.
The result is a widespread use of software as a service (SaaS) applications that shows no sign of stopping. In fact, research firm Gartner predicts that software spend will grow over 40% from $529B in 2020 to $750B in 2023, highlighting that SaaS companies continue to grow faster than ever with no slowdown.
SaaS worldwide expansion
Adoption of SaaS applications in businesses has skyrocketed over the past decade. Statista reports that companies used only 5 SaaS tools only 7 short years ago in 2015.
What changed?
The cloud model enabled a whole generation of companies the ability to get off the ground at a fraction of the cost. Gone were the days of needing to spend exorbitant sums of money developing and maintaining in-house software. Protracted implementation times, software customizations, expensive in-house teams and security threats were expensive barriers that needed addressing before companies could get an MVP to market.
Organizations needed something better. They needed a way to get the following benefits:
- Scalability and integration
- Guaranteed security
- Flexibility
- Lower costs
- Clearer path to ROI
That solution came in the form of SaaS software.
Compared to the on-premise model where companies must buy or rent a license or a copy of the software as well as host the infrastructure, SaaS applications use shared infrastructure made available through the internet. Every app your employees need is available over the internet. They only must log into their accounts to use the chosen application.
Once signed up, they can use the app from any device, anytime and anywhere—just as long they are connected to the Internet.
That has allowed companies the choice of best-in-class applications across a range of functions from sales, HR, marketing and IT. In the early 2000’s, they only had a handful of SaaS companies to choose from. Nowadays, the SaaS market is expected to expand by over 17% annually by 2022. Imagine - just in marketing, there are almost 10,000 applications to choose from - up from just 150 in 2011!
Instead of engaging the IT team to create and update software, the chosen SaaS solution does the work for you. They take care of everything in the cloud.
The notion of getting a best-in-class tool for a fraction of the cost a company would typically spend on an in-house system became appealing to companies. In fact, in a 2021 study, SaaS was chosen as the most crucial technology for corporate success, with 73% of 1,724 respondents thinking SaaS was important to their business.
Cloud-based software is accessible from anywhere. This, together with cost-efficiency, frequent updates and ease of use, led to a significant expansion of the SaaS market. Today, it’s the go-to solution for businesses of all sizes.
Add pay-as-you-go models and the popularity of remote work to that, and you can see why the SaaS model is here to stay.
SaaS expansion issues
Regardless of the industry, many have probably turned to SaaS to improve their business processes. You’re not alone. One survey found that over 80% of organizations anticipate that SaaS will meet their software needs by the end of 2022.
Google Drive, Slack, Zoom or Dropbox are probably some of the tools that can be used to help team members get their work done. But the expansion of SaaS and cloud-based tools is not without its problems.
Shadow IT
Although beneficial, having too many SaaS apps puts pressure on finance and IT. Visibility and control of what applications are used across a company can cause friction with the bsuiensses need to move forward quickly, and adopt new software.
That’s why companies face a modern SaaS problem—shadow IT. The term refers to the use of various technologies without official approval from the IT department.
According to Microsoft, over 80% of employees admit to using SaaS tools without obtaining approval from IT. This leads to three problems:
- Your IT team doesn’t know what data is shared and where it sits.
- Your finance team can’t properly manage SaaS spend, resulting in higher costs.
- New SaaS constantly enters the organization without proper oversight and unclear ROI
A SaaS management software like Cledara can put a stop to shadow IT to lower the risk of having shadow IT account for 30-40% of IT spending.
Unnecessary apps and wasted spend
Complete visibility helps ensure that employees use only the necessary apps they need, reduces wasteful spend and increases productivity and effectiveness. That’s why a tool to help manage SaaS applications within the company makes sense.
According to Gartner, 25% of the software companies pay for may goes unused. That adds up. The US and the UK generate a whopping $34 billion in annual licensing waste every year.
Another report reveals that 38% of company software is going to waste. This problem is likely affecting your organization as well.
Without Cledara or other SaaS management software, there is a risk of wasting money that should be going into growing the precious business and serving the customers. The time to manage and control SaaS apps is now!
Luckily, technology has advanced so much that we now have tools to help increase visibility and control over employees’ SaaS usage. As a result, it can decrease SaaS spend and focus on investing only in software the team members need.
SaaS issues affect employees
High SaaS spend and shadow IT aren’t the only problem. If not managed well, SaaS applications can cause negative employee experiences leading to attrition.
Research shows that nearly half of employees will quit their job if they are frustrated with technology.
When technology gets in the way of doing their job properly and efficiently, team members may consider a new opportunity. But the frustration with workplace technology isn't the only problem.
A recent survey by Cledara revealed that 63% of employees believe SaaS issues damage their company’s culture.
When employees don’t have the right tools to get their job done or feel frustrated, their trust in the company decreases. They may think the company wants them to perform on a certain level without providing the appropriate tools
Most issues that derive from the proliferation of SaaS can be resolved with a SaaS management platform like Cledara.
If you want to explore a few options, check out the SaaS management tools in our article. The majority of them are suitable alternatives to another platform available, Zylo.
Zylo
Pricing: A custom pricing for their software available upon request
UX: 4.3/5
UI: 4.5/5
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
Advanced features: Usage data, security and compliance app integrations, always-on monitoring
Free trial: Yes
Pros:
- Email reminders for subscription renewals
- Functionality to track critical data for each software, such as contract terms and license number
Cons:
- Reliant on integrations - only the SaaS that can be integrated can be tracked.
- Only identifies ad hoc SaaS activity - it does not prevent it
- Does not integrate the purchasing of SaaS
Zylo enables managing and optimizing the SaaS across the company. That significantly streamlines the SaaS management process. The software helps discover apps across numerous teams. As a result, there is complete visibility over SaaS usage.
By accessing Zylo and its dashboard, IT and Finance departments learn the number of SaaS applications and conclude how necessary they are.
Zylo also promises frictionless, ongoing monitoring. It can come in handy when wanting to reduce SaaS spend and see how the team members use the apps. Companies can cancel a subscription to a specific tool if the spending is wasteful, thanks to Zylo.
Another benefit of Zylo is that it streamlines renewal management processes, an important feature for finance leaders. Zylo comes in to give complete control over renewals and access to payment data.
Drawbacks of Zylo
Zylo has certain drawbacks. Depending on your team’s priorities, these drawbacks may lead you to find an alternatives to this platform to improve your SaaS management process.
Most users point out that Zylo has certain integration limitations. Specifically, the tool encourages users to integrate with other platforms to have the most basic functions. For instance, a user would need to integrate with Okta to access detailed analytics.
If we compare Zylo to Cledara, there is another limitation. Zylo does not integrate SaaS purchasing, which means that the companies won’t be able to have complete control over software spend without the granular visibility and insight that payment data affords.
Given these drawbacks, we suggest exploring Zylo alternatives.
Alternatives to Zylo
Proper SaaS management ensures awareness of every SaaS app you pay for. IT and finance departments won’t need to manually find solutions and determine how much they cost the company with better automation and control of yoru software.
To help forge strategic growth and gain an understanding of software usage in the company, we used the following criteria to rank top competitors of Zylo:
- Free trial: Even though SaaS management tools are worth the investment, even the greatest should offer a free trial.
- Reviews: All of the tools listed in the article can be found on user review websites. You can read the feedback and see how other users rated them. We investigated these places and discovered both advantages and disadvantages.
- User experience (UX): A user-friendly platform is essential. Even the team's least tech-savvy individuals should be able to navigate the SaaS management system with ease.
- User interface (UI): Through eye-catching aesthetics, engaging design, and responsiveness, well-designed software encourages interaction between the user and the app. Your team members will most likely use this product daily; thus, it should be appealing.
- Features: All of the options on our list assist you in managing the SaaS apps, although some include advanced features. Workflow automation, security protocols, and SaaS expenditure control are just a few examples of sophisticated platform features.
Given the above, let’s see which Zylo alternatives to consider.
1. Cledara
Pricing: Essential ($125/month), Standard ($250/month) and Pro ($650/ month)
UX: 5/5
UI: 4.9/5
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
Advanced features: SaaS app management, virtual debit and credit cards, SaaS purchasing, SaaS analytics, integrations with Gmail and Xero, finance automation, built-in compliance and more.
Free trial: Yes, post demo
Pros:
- Intuitive UI and dashboard
- Works with 100% of SaaS applications
- Complete visibility and control of SaaS apps
- Workflow automation
- 2% uncapped cashback on all software purchases, 1% on most anything else
Cons:
- Need to set up payment details with each vendor
Imagine having a SaaS management platform that gives users one place to see, buy and manage the SaaS subscriptions. Well, there is no need to imagine it—that platform exists. We’re talking about Cledara, a SaaS management platform built for growing businesses.
For a fast-growing startup or scaleup company, Cledara is a SaaS management software and payment tool that has everything needed to ensure that finance and IT teams gain complete visibility and control over numerous cloud-based apps.
Regardless of the number of employees or apps, Cledara offers 100% visibility on SaaS subscriptions, saving teams more than 15 hours of work every month.
Apart from displaying all the SaaS subscriptions in one dashboard, Cledara also functions as a payment solution. That means that Cledara’s users are in charge of their organization’s software investments. Users get to decide if a specific team needs a solution, making the process of buying software easier.
Once a software solution is approved internally, teams can issue virtual debit and credit cards for subscriptions. Rather than using a shared company card, Cledara allows each subscription to have its own unique virtual card. That creates the perfect balance between security and team empowerment.
Another benefit of Cledara is that it lists all SaaS applications in one place. One of the leading Zylo alternatives ensures understanding of which tools the teams are really using. This SaaS management platform achieves that by giving you control over every subscription.
Instead of asking the finance team to find which apps are used, employees can find all approved software in Cledara, and ask the owner of each access application directly.
What makes Cledara stand out from other Zylo alternatives (Zylo included) is how they incorporate SaaS purchasing and SaaS usage. Both finance and IT teams find that Cledara helps them have the peace of mind they need while allowing employees the flexibility and control to buy, manage and use the software they need.
Get visibility and control over the SaaS subscriptions with Cledara in a few easy steps—Sign up today.
Let’s check out the other best alternatives to Zylo.
2. Blissfully
Pricing: Custom pricing for their software available upon request
UX: 4.3/5
UI: 4/5
Capterra rating: 4.4/5
Advanced features: Workflow automation, easier vendor management, vast reporting and insights
Free trial: No
Pros:
- Straightforward onboarding workflows
- Detailed data insights
- Good vendor management
Cons:
- Little flexibility in creating reports
- Problems with the UI
- Reliant on integrations - only the SaaS that can be integrated can be tracked
As we’ve noted, software as a service has exploded in recent years. SaaS management software like Blissfully can help with so many apps being used.
This SaaS software empowers IT, finance and procurement teams to buy and manage solutions. It automatically discovers and organizes software your employees use. Blissfully also keeps track of all vendors and contracts, listing them in a single dashboard.
The management software relies on data to help users make informed decisions. They can monitor SaaS adoption, usage and total spend over a specific period. That can empower the purchase and renewal decisions.
A benefit of Blissfully is its vendor management. It means gaining access to all SaaS vendor contracts, which means the company won’t miss a renewal. Duplicative purchases will also be a thing of the past with Blissfully.
Teams can also set up an approval process to ensure error-free SaaS management.
In general, users are satisfied with Blissfully. However, they do point out the platform’s drawbacks. For instance, they experience issues when creating reports, and they think the software’s UI could improve.
3. BetterCloud
Pricing: One Plan ($3/user/month), Core Plan ($6/user/month), Enterprise Plan ($10/user/month)
UX: 4.2/5
UI: 4/5
Capterra rating: 3.6/5
Advanced features: Automated workflows, app discovery, security compliance
Free trial: No
Pros:
- Streamlines the onboarding and offboarding processes
- Data loss prevention
Cons:
- The user interface takes some time to get used to
- Only detects SaaS activity ad hoc, doesn’t prevent it
- Reliant on integrations
- Doesn’t integrate SaaS purchasing
Next on our list of Zylo alternatives is BetterCloud.
BetterCloud is a SaaS management software. Similar to Zylo, BetterCloud targets IT organizations allowing them to discover and manage key SaaS applications across their organization.
This management solution enables app discovery. It lists all SaaS solutions in a single view, benefiting all teams. Specifically, it reduces costs, boosts efficiency and gives complete control over all SaaS applications.
BetterCloud also helps with employee onboarding. BetterCloud automates onboarding processes to improve the employee experience. Blissfully enables teams to ensure that team members will have access to the necessary apps and data they need from the first day.
As a software as a service management solution, BetterCloud automates workflows. Manual processes can be eliminated by using the platform’s automation tools. The IT team can simplify routine updates for a more streamlined workflow.
This tool stresses the importance of app data security. All regulations and standards will be met when users get control over their apps and data. IT and security teams will save time by quickly discovering potential exposures.
Although it is one of Zylo's alternatives, BetterCloud has some drawbacks. Unlike Cledara, BetterCloud does not integrate SaaS purchasing, making the process difficult for the finance team to see granular payment data. Also, as they are reliant on integrations, BetterCloud can only help with a small subset of SaaS solutions used at the typical company.
Another con users report are limitations on which data can be exported from the system.
4. Productiv
Pricing: A custom pricing for their software available upon request
UX: 4.1/5
UI: 4.3/5
Capterra rating: N/A
G2 rating: 4.8/5
Advanced features: App discovery, proactive governance, analytics, automated workflows
Free trial: Yes
Pros:
- Security and compliance to identify tools that follow numerous regulations such as GDPR
- Shadow IT discovery
Cons:
- Doesn’t integrate SaaS purchasing
- Automation needs third-party systems
Businesses looking for technologies that can help them manage their SaaS usage have another software as a service management platform at their disposal—Productiv.
This platform serves IT departments as it enables them to discover every app. Regardless of how many applications users actively use, Productiv will find and present them in a centralized location.
Productiv also ensures users can manage and uncover shadow IT. With Productiv, IT and finance teams can automate workflows. Another perk is the automatic reclaiming of licenses if you discover inactive users.
Productive helps with analytics as well to help teams understand SaaS software usage across the organization. Users can also uncover data about how their employees adopt new applications and features.
In terms of reducing licensing waste, this software as a service management platform comes in handy. It compares apps with similar features to help in determining whether the teams really need all of them.
Productiv users point out that the management software has various limitations. For instance, automation requires third-party systems. Another drawback is that Productiv does not integrate SaaS purchasing.
5. Torii
Pricing: A custom pricing for their software available upon request
UX: 4.7/5
UI: 4.8/5
Capterra rating: 5/5
Advanced features: Straightforward onboarding and offboarding, spend optimization, vendor and renewal management
Free trial: No
Pros:
- Simple to use
- Good automation and workflow functionality
Cons:
- Only detects SaaS activity ad hoc, doesn’t prevent it
- Relient on integrations
- Doesn’t integrate SaaS purchasing
- Reporting needs improvement
The last software as a service management software on our list is Torii.
Torii sells to IT organizations. Regardless of the level of industry expertise, Torii can help companies discover and manage every SaaS software in their organization. Not knowing how many SaaS software services exist in the company can lead to issues like shadow IT and licensing waste.
Compared to some of the software as a service management solutions on our list, Torii is a solid Zylo alternative.
One of its benefits is that it helps IT and finance teams manage SaaS spend and decrease subscription costs. This SaaS management platform helps control SaaS sprawl.
Torii offers actionable insights to all those using the software. Some of that data helps prioritize SaaS investments. For example, by measuring app adoption, teams can know the ROI of an application over time.
Its data also highlights redundant subscriptions which might have gone undetected previously.
There are, however, some drawbacks to Torii. Users state that the software’s reporting could be improved. Some also write that Torii relies heavily on integrations.
Choose your SaaS management software
We have listed five alternatives to Zylo. All of them come with various benefits businesses might want to explore. The decision ultimately depends on the business needs.
We suggest going over both the benefits and drawbacks of each software as a service management solution to determine which ones match the needs. Then, choose between those SaaS management software that can meet the demands the best.
Cledara is there every step of the way to help you get the most out of your software.
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