With the widespread use of SaaS applications, IT departments have sometimes lost a little control over the software used in their company. In 2020, CIOs usually only know about 50% of the SaaS applications used in the different departments of their company*. In fact, businesses get their software according to their needs, without necessarily involving the IT department in the choice of their solutions. This is known as 'shadow IT' (or Shadow SaaS for purists).
Not informing your IT department can have consequences for your company's information system. Without centralizing information about the software you use, applications multiply, with no monitoring over costs and usage:
Solutions are beginning to appear on the market to make it possible for CIOs and purchasing departments to simply monitor SaaS applications used in the enterprise.
For example, Keepeek has recently been referenced on Beamy, a SaaS detection and intelligence platform for enterprises. Beamy, a French start-up, offers a solution for mapping and managing SaaS applications:
- automatic detection of the solutions used by employees through an analysis of accounting and Internet browsing.
- business categorization and proposals for optimization actions
- GDPR / safety risk assessment and compliance process
- information centralization from publishers and customer referrers (security, GDPR, contractual conditions, etc.).
- catalog of SaaS solutions referenced by category to facilitate the choice of new tools for digital transformation
- governance process for the implementation of new applications
Mapping SaaS applications has many advantages:
It can happen that the same application is used and billed separately in several departments of the company. Pooling the customer account can reduce costs or allow everyone to benefit from a framework contract.
Does your company use three different solutions to do more or less the same thing? Migrating to a common solution will help communication between your services. Furthermore, it will be easier to identify tools that have been abandoned and to break obsolete contracts.
When a need for a tool emerges in a team, it will be easier to identify if such a tool is already in use in the company. The team will then be able to adopt it more easily (and quickly), benefiting from the experience and support from the departments who already use it.
With SaaS, the publisher bears a lot of responsibility, particularly in terms of securing the solution and managing personal data. The GDPR requires to keep a register of data processing up to date, which is very complex with Shadow SaaS and the constant updating of the SaaS ecosystem.
You may be reluctant for your IT department to share your Keepeek application with other entities in your company (other brands, other departments). You may be afraid that your data or assets may be modified by others. However, Keepeek makes it possible for you to share the application while securing distinct administration of content, data and users. This is what the PSA Group has done, for example, by sharing seven different brands in a single Keepeek solution.
Just think about it! Other departments in your company may have the same asset management issues as you do!
To find out more, to get the necessary information from us for your CIO or to exchange with our teams, please contact us.
*according to Beamy
