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12/06/2026 9:05 pm
TL;DR: SaaS management platforms help IT teams recover visibility, reduce redundant apps, manage licenses and contracts, and surface security risk across a growing SaaS stack, including shadow IT and unauthorized access attempts, according to Zluri. The deeper issue is not software sprawl alone, but the identity and governance gaps that appear when access, usage, and lifecycle controls are fragmented.
NHIMG editorial — based on content published by Zluri: 5 reasons why you need a SaaS management platform
By the numbers:
- 96% of organisations store secrets outside of secrets managers in vulnerable locations including code, config files, and CI/CD tools.
Questions worth separating out
Q: How should security teams govern SaaS sprawl across identity and procurement workflows?
A: They should build one control view that connects discovery, ownership, licensing, and access review.
Q: Why does SaaS sprawl create identity risk as well as cost waste?
A: Because unmanaged applications often carry active user access, delegated permissions, and stored data even when no one is tracking them centrally.
Q: How do teams know whether SaaS governance is actually working?
A: Look for decreasing counts of unmanaged applications, fewer duplicate tools, shorter renewal exceptions, and a tighter match between licensed seats and active users.
Practitioner guidance
- Correlate SaaS discovery across identity, finance, and app telemetry Build a single inventory that reconciles SSO logs, identity provider records, expense data, and direct app integrations so unmanaged applications can be identified without manual chasing.
- Link license reviews to access reviews Use unassigned and underused licenses as a trigger to confirm whether the underlying access should be removed, reassigned, or recertified.
- Prioritise high-risk applications by data authority Rank SaaS apps by what they can read, modify, or delete, and start with services that touch sensitive shared data or critical business systems.
What's in the full article
Zluri's full article covers the operational detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:
- Step-by-step walkthrough of the nine discovery methods used to build a SaaS inventory across SSO, finance, integrations, and browser signals
- Interface-level examples showing where license, subscription, contract, and perpetual views are surfaced for operational users
- Detailed screenshots and field-level examples of the security and compliance tabs, including events, data shared, compliance, and security probes
- Renewal alert timing and contract management mechanics that procurement teams can use to avoid unwanted renewal cycles
👉 Read Zluri's article on why SaaS management platforms matter for IT teams →
SaaS sprawl and shadow IT: what IAM teams need to fix first?
Explore further
12/06/2026 10:55 pm
SaaS management has become an identity governance problem, not just an operations problem. The article shows that discovery, licensing, renewals, and security review are all being pulled into one operational layer because SaaS buying has outpaced manual administration. That matters because the same identity gaps that create shadow IT also create shadow entitlements, especially when app ownership is unclear. The practitioner conclusion is that SaaS governance now belongs in the same conversation as access governance, not after it.
A few things that frame the scale:
- Strong SaaS governance is part of a broader identity control problem: 79% of organisations have experienced secrets leaks, with 77% of these incidents resulting in tangible damage, according to Ultimate Guide to NHIs.
- The visibility gap is equally structural, with only 5.7% of organisations having full visibility into their service accounts, according to Ultimate Guide to NHIs.
A question worth separating out:
Q: What is the difference between SaaS inventory and SaaS governance?
A: SaaS inventory tells you what exists. SaaS governance tells you who owns it, who can use it, what it costs, what data it can reach, and when access or contracts should end. Inventory is descriptive. Governance is decision-oriented and lifecycle-based, which is what security, IAM, and procurement teams need to reduce both risk and waste.
👉 Read our full editorial: SaaS management platforms expose the identity blind spots in SaaS sprawl
