Here’s an example of a story we hear often from our MSP customers.
They have a client that is a 75-person business using 15 Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscriptions across all its employees. (Do the maths, it’s a management nightmare.)
The client wants a dashboard to manage different apps. He wants every employee that leaves to be offboarded all of them (to save money of course). He wants every employee that joins to be onboarded on all of them.
The MSP’s ask of us is summed up in one word: HELP!
MSPs are facing a new world where SaaS is the default. The problem is that most of them don’t have the service offering to not only survive but thrive in this new environment.
That’s where these four SaaS admin services can help. MSP SaaS services aim to help your clients manage what can quickly become dozens of subscriptions and renewal cycles, each with its own set of users and compliance issues.
These services can be broken down into these four offerings.
- SaaS administration: Setting up and configuring apps.
- SaaS integrations: Connecting SaaS apps to support business processes.
- SaaS audits: Generate insights and actionable data.
- SaaS support: Resolve SaaS app access and user issues.
SaaS administration can refer to everything from onboarding and offboarding employees to selecting and configuring new apps.
On the former, onboarding processes for SaaS services should be implemented to quickly bring on new employees. Even more importantly, when employees leave, administrators must be able to remove access just as quickly for security purposes.
Using a SaaS management platform can help to automate and increase the speed/accuracy of these steps.
2. SaaS Integrations
As businesses become more educated about cloud solutions and what they can do, they want more choices. In fact, businesses want a variety of SaaS applications that meet their specific needs rather than “one size fits most.” MSPs that can customize these platforms are well-positioned to succeed.
Why is this the case? This shift creates numerous new opportunities to develop and expand application deployment and integration services for SaaS products. IT companies who specialize in connecting multiple SaaS services to help simplify them and increase their value are increasingly in demand.
Progressive MSPs are taking it a step further and becoming more proactive in designing business processes and delivering the SaaS integrations to support them.
3. SaaS Audits
MSPs should help their clients by outlining and auditing all existing SaaS apps. Not only does this help provide visibility into their software stack at all times, but it also eliminates unknown software (aka Shadow IT). A client can’t manage something that it doesn’t know exists.
It’s important that, once you know what your client is using, that you go ahead and check every one of them for possible compliance and security risks.
4. SaaS Support
Traditionally, SMBs have had expectations about the performance of their on-premise infrastructures. However, with the adoption of many SaaS platforms, SMBs must now figure out how to maintain a cloud infrastructure. This set-up is a great place for MSPs to help.
As long as MSPs have the tools they need to track, monitor, and manage applications across the entire infrastructure, they can help combat costly issues, including:
- Extra licenses (shelfware)
- Inactive users (including former employees)
- Duplicate apps or multiple instances
- Unoptimized licenses and off-the-shelf pricing
The Wrap on the Top Four SaaS Admin Services
SaaS admin services are the way MSPs secure their clients’ SaaS apps through centralized and automated operations. These services take into account how people use applications and how data is managed and secured.
In the end, it’s all about saving money, reducing human error and providing protection against potential risks. What client doesn’t want those benefits?
