Without Governance, SaaS Can Become the Villain of Your IT

The adoption of SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions has been growing exponentially, offering companies the flexibility and efficiency needed to operate in the digital market. According to Gartner, global spending on this type of software is expected to surpass $195 billion by 2024, highlighting the increasingly central role of these solutions. However, without effective governance, SaaS can turn from hero to villain, putting organizations’ security, efficiency, and compliance at risk.

The Dangers of Lack of Control over SaaS
SaaS solutions are easy to acquire, which leads many teams to adopt them without IT knowledge or oversight. This behavior, known as Shadow IT, can create serious problems, including:

Security Risks: according to a survey by McAfee, approximately 30% of corporate data on SaaS platforms is accessed by devices not managed by IT staff, exposing organizations to serious security risks. In addition, the study showed that 92% of companies have unauthorized SaaS solutions running on their networks, a problem directly related to a lack of governance.

Compliance and Auditing Many organizations are subject to specific regulations (GDPR, LGPD, HIPAA, etc.). When SaaS usage is not controlled, the company can violate these regulations without even realizing it. A study by Skyhigh Networks revealed that 61% of SaaS providers do not clearly specify their data recovery process or how they ensure compliance with data protection laws, which can result in severe fines and penalties.

Uncontrolled Spending: The proliferation of SaaS tools without a governance plan can result in high costs. Companies spend an average of 30% more on SaaS solutions than necessary, mainly due to duplicate subscriptions, unused licenses, and lack of contract renegotiation. Without a clear view of SaaS usage and lifecycle, organizations end up wasting precious resources.

What are the negative impacts on Operational Efficiency?
In addition to financial and compliance risks, a lack of governance over SaaS can lead to a number of inefficiencies:

Information Silos: According to BetterCloudOn average, 45% of employees in a company use SaaS solutions that are not integrated with the organization's core systems, which creates data silos and hinders the flow of information.
Tool Incompatibility: THE Gartner estimates that by 2025, 50% of companies will face major integration and collaboration issues due to the unregulated use of SaaS solutions. This can create friction between teams, hindering collaboration and harming productivity.
Loss of Productivity: A study of the Cisco showed that companies with ineffective governance over SaaS solutions lose an average of 10% of their employees' productive time due to lack of standardization and fragmented use of tools.

How Effective Governance Can Transform SaaS
For SaaS to remain an ally of IT, it is essential that companies adopt clear governance, with policies that help to:

Centralize Control: Implement a clear SaaS asset management strategy, monitoring the lifecycle of each solution. This includes the use of SaaS management tools such as Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) platforms.
Ensure Security: Use tools that enhance security and visibility, such as Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Using SSO can reduce security incidents related to weak authentication in SaaS tools by 50%.
Maximize Efficiency and Costs: Regularly audit the tools in use, eliminate redundancies and renegotiate contracts. Companies that implement centralized SaaS management can reduce costs by up to 20% in the first year.

Without proper governance, SaaS can indeed become the villain of your IT, negatively impacting your organization’s security, efficiency, and compliance. We believe that the key to avoiding this scenario is to use MattZero for SaaS management in conjunction with the implementation of robust governance policies that ensure effective management of SaaS solutions and protect the company from unnecessary risks.

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