Topic starter
11/06/2026 11:24 pm
TL;DR: As SaaS adoption outpaces IT visibility, software asset management is shifting from licence tracking to identity governance, renewal control, and lifecycle enforcement, according to Zluri. The practical issue is not just spend leakage but unmanaged access and offboarding gaps across SaaS apps, vendors, and internal users.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Zluri: “How to Manage Software Assets”.
Key questions
Q: What breaks when SaaS spend management is treated separately from identity governance?
A: The organisation can remove licences without removing accounts, or keep accounts active without any clear business need.
Q: Why do hidden SaaS renewals create security risk as well as cost waste?
A: Hidden renewals keep software and its access paths alive after the original business need may have ended.
Q: How can teams tell whether SaaS governance is actually working?
A: Look for evidence that discovered applications can be assigned an owner, tied to an access policy, and removed through an enforced workflow.
Practitioner guidance
- Map SaaS ownership to a named business owner Assign every SaaS application to a clear accountable owner who can approve access, review usage and accept renewal decisions.
- Tie SaaS onboarding and offboarding to JML workflows Connect app requests, approvals and revocations to joiner-mover-leaver processes so access changes follow employment and engagement changes.
- Replace static spreadsheets with continuous discovery Use discovery methods that can surface apps, users, licence types and usage patterns continuously rather than at monthly or quarterly intervals.
Bottom line: SaaS asset management now overlaps with identity governance because access, ownership and offboarding determine whether software is truly under control.
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This topic was modified 4 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group
12/06/2026 8:02 am
SaaS asset management is now an identity governance discipline, not a procurement exercise. Once app buying, user assignment and offboarding happen outside IT visibility, the real control problem becomes who can access what and for how long. The article is strongest where it shows that software oversight and access governance are converging, especially for internal users and external collaborators. Practitioners should treat SaaS stewardship as part of the identity lifecycle, not a standalone asset ledger.
A question worth separating out:
Q: How should teams align SaaS procurement with access governance?
A: Treat procurement as the start of the control chain, not the end. Every SaaS purchase should carry an owner, approved user population, review cadence, and offboarding process. That way finance, IT, and security are making the same decision record, and the organisation can revoke access when the business need changes.
👉 Read our full editorial: SaaS asset management is becoming an identity governance problem
This post was modified 4 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group