The Number of SaaS Applications at Companies Declined For the First Time in Over a Decade
IT departments of all sizes are facing the unique challenge of tighter budgets colliding with higher expectations.
BetterCloud, the premier SaaS Management Platform provider, released the results of its annual State of SaaSOps 2024 report, the definitive industry report on how Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is evolving and the impact on IT departments. It is the longest running survey in the SaaS Operations category, based on feedback from thousands of IT professionals of all levels and company sizes since 2012. This year’s results reveal IT being stretched like never before, driven by increasingly tighter budgets and higher employee expectations.
“The past 12 months was about consolidation and reduction in IT” – David Politis, Founder of BetterCloud
The BetterCloud research report shows that for the first time ever the number of SaaS applications in the technology stack at companies decreased. After years of continuous growth, peaking in 2022 at 130 SaaS applications on average per company, the latest data reveals that the number dropped by 14% to 112 in 2023.
“The data clearly shows that the past 12 months was a year of consolidation and reduction in IT,” stated David Politis, Founder & Chairman of BetterCloud, the pioneer of the SaaSOps category. “It’s more challenging than I’ve ever seen. IT teams are bearing the brunt of it with IT-to-Employee ratios getting worse. But I’m optimistic. I think next year we’re going to look back on 2024 and see how today’s constraints and limitations opened the door for creativity and innovation.”
The reversal in SaaS application growth at companies is driven by a reduction in SaaS spending last year. Over half the respondents (52%) felt that there’s more scrutiny in SaaS purchasing than before. Which is not surprising given the current economic climate and that companies report wasting on average more than $135,000 in unused software licenses. While the key to reducing waste in SaaS spend is having a clear picture of what is being spent and how that software is being used, unfortunately almost a third of companies (29%) report having insufficient visibility and insight into their SaaS spend. The impact of this blind spot is significant, with 31% of automation leaders reporting that they’re challenged to identify file security risks.
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The report found that security and excessive software expenditure are top of mind for IT professionals. The biggest concerns when managing their SaaS technology stacks are:
- Securing SaaS applications (31%)
- Keeping up with operational tasks, such as onboarding new employees (26%)
- Managing SaaS application license costs (25%)
