Simon Townsend Are you a Slack fanatic or do you rely on Teams most often for communication? Or does your department have those and a few more to use, depending on individual preference? The fact is team collaboration and project management SaaS applications are two of the main culprits bringing redundancy and waste to enterprises. That, along, with Shadow IT SaaS applications, leads to an estimated 25% overspend, according to a Gartner report. Add to this the advent of AI applications and one can see why application sprawl needs a terminator!
When we talk to customers we hear they are looking for ways to gain more insights into SaaS application use, to identify waste while still giving employees the tools that support productivity. Our customers want to shift the focus away from more app complexity, redundancy and budget waste. They’re looking for modern digital employee experience (DEX) platforms to streamline digital workplace management.
SaaS and AI growth isn’t slowing down, adding to more imperative to modernize and streamline operations sooner than later. Published data estimates large enterprises have more than 400 SaaS apps on average. SaaS spending, as a result, continues its steady rise. Gartner has estimated SaaS apps to grow 20% to $300 billion in 2025. AI projections are more robust. Statista estimates the AI market to grow to $1 trillion by 2031.
It’s About Modernizing Operations and Cutting Waste
DEX streamlines digital workplace management so IT has a crisp view into application use and performance. Using data gathering in real time, DEX identifies a performance issue, remediates via automation, fixing issues before they reach an employee’s workspace.
It fights SaaS budget waste with its real-time telemetry, analyzing data from across the enterprise to discover if a SaaS app hasn’t been used in weeks or months yet is racking up cloud storage costs. The data can help IT retire apps that are basically a budget drain. It’s a continuing battle as Gartner data says, that through 2027, organizations will overspend by at least 25% on SaaS applications due to unused entitlements and redundancy.
AI Applications: The Next Frontier
Merging the capabilities of AI at the digital workplace and DEX are essential to running a modern enterprise. AI application licensing is more complex, due to issues like ownership of the outputs from a licensed model, or use of the generated data in complying with GDPR, HIPAA and other regulations. IT teams need to use a platform like DEX to gain visibility as AI application use proliferates and to be able to navigate the complex AI licensing structure, from proprietary licenses like Google Cloud AI, to data centric licenses like ODbL.
To support AI application management, ControlUp now has an AI Report dashboard which offers visibility into how employees are using AI apps, and which tools are getting the most use.
Whether SaaS or AI, application visibility answers two enterprise needs. First is the desire to consolidate apps where possible to save budget, eliminate waste and economically use IT’s time. As AI apps dominate the workplace, non-performing and underutilized ones will need this scrutiny. Secondly, a satisfying employee experience is now top of mind in any enterprise. Employees want to use AI – bringing modernization to the individual level. Putting an AI-centric visibility and management structure in place will help IT support employees and the next wave of AI innovations.
Time to Win Against Waste
Talk to us about getting visibility into underutilized SaaS apps and crafting a strategy now to manage the significant volume of AI apps headed your way. A DEX-powered digital workforce management is your best chance to streamline operations, save budget and devote more time to customer wins!
Give ControlUp a try for free today.