SaaS Management Maturity - How IT Becomes Strategic

How can IT move from SaaS gatekeeper to strategic advisor, across 5 maturity stages, while taming shadow apps and runaway spend? Discover the 4 phases of modern IT, the leap from insights to automation, and practical steps that save real money. Uncover ways to streamline renewals, eliminate orphaned accounts, and align SaaS to revenue, cost, and risk.

In this video, Uri Nativ, CPO and co-founder at Torii, shares a 5-stage SaaS management roadmap and the 4 phases from gatekeeper to tech advisor. See how to integrate SSO, HR systems, expenses, and ERP for a live repository, convert visibility into actionable insights, and automate onboarding, offboarding, and renewals with Jira, Freshservice, Zapier, or Workato. A must-watch for IT leaders battling shadow IT, scattered renewals, or tight budgets who need fast wins that align to revenue, cost, and risk.

This article was originally a video (YouTube link here). Below is the full transcript:

Welcome to this special presentation. Today we will discuss how IT can thrive in the era of SaaS, and the steps IT teams can take to advance their processes and strategic impact.

A few quick housekeeping items: we cannot hear or see attendees, and microphones and cameras are muted. If you have questions, please send them via the Zoom chat. We will address questions during the Q&A at the end.

Our agenda includes a brief history of IT and how it evolved into its modern role managing SaaS, a walkthrough of the SaaS management maturity stages, and the importance of building strategic relationships across departments and management levels to advance through the maturity model.

Now I will introduce our speaker, Eran Teev. Eran is the CPO and co-founder at Torii. He has been deeply involved in SaaS management and the tech community for years. He built an engineering center at Klarna, and he is a member of the Forbes Technology Council. He champions agile methodologies and advancing gender diversity in tech. Fun fact: he is a proud father of three Star Wars fans.

Thank you. It is a pleasure to be here and to share thoughts about the industry, SaaS management, and where we are heading. Before we look at the future, let’s take a short look at the history of IT.

At a high level, IT has moved through four phases. First, IT as gatekeepers: IT controlled software installations, licensing, and hardware. Second, the SaaS boom accelerated by COVID in 2020, when many companies adopted SaaS rapidly and IT began chasing visibility and control. Third, AI hunters: today we face a new wave of AI tools and AI-enabled SaaS, raising questions about the data being shared and how vendors train their models. Finally, the future we want: tech advisors. IT should shift from gatekeeper to strategic advisor.

Today, many IT teams are stuck chasing SaaS and AI while also owning SaaS management. They need time and support to take a strategic approach amidst competing priorities.

We created a SaaS management maturity model with five stages: manual SaaS management, live repository, actionable insights, automated lifecycle management, and strategic IT leadership. I will walk through each stage.

Stage 1: Manual SaaS Management. Teams track SaaS in spreadsheets, updating monthly or quarterly. This process is time-consuming, prone to becoming outdated quickly, and relies on manual data collection and follow-up.

Practical first steps at this stage include implementing a single sign-on solution, such as Okta, Azure AD, or Google Workspace, and using virtual credit cards or platforms like Ramp, Brex, and Mesh Payments to get basic expense visibility.

Stage 2: Live Repository. This is like an automated spreadsheet—data updates automatically and frees up time for analysis. To reach this stage, integrate systems so data flows: connect identity providers (IDPs), SSO, HRMS, expense management, and ERP systems via APIs or scripts. The live repository provides visibility and enables basic questions, such as which teams are paying for which tools.

Stage 3: Actionable Insights. With visibility, the next challenge is deciding what to do. Actionable insights include identifying where to save money, tracking upcoming renewals, and finding orphaned accounts. Most execution is still manual, but decisions become data driven. Investing in a basic access management or SaaS discovery platform helps produce these insights.

Stage 4: Automated Lifecycle Management. This stage automates actions based on insights: renewals, offboarding, onboarding, and notification workflows. Integrate SaaS management with ticketing systems such as Jira, Freshservice, or other ITSM platforms, or use automation tools like Zapier and Workato. Automation reduces manual toil and frees time for strategic initiatives.

Stage 5: Strategic IT Leadership. In this stage, IT drives company strategy: aligning technology with business goals, optimizing spend, increasing efficiency, and reducing risk. IT builds strong partnerships with procurement and leadership to present future technology plans. Achieving this requires that manual tasks are automated and routine management is handled consistently.

We ran a poll asking whether organizations monitor unsanctioned SaaS apps. Many respondents reported partial visibility, such as “yes, but we are struggling,” or “no, but we plan to.” Common challenges include sourcing methods—some teams rely on expense data, while others use surveys. These obstacles make populating a live repository difficult, but they can be addressed with integrations and discovery tools.

Once you have visibility, the next step is to turn data into decisions. Shadow IT is a major problem, but actionable insights let you act: save on renewals, remove access for departed employees, and consolidate tools. To begin, focus on key areas such as renewal management and access controls, and consider a basic SaaS management plan to centralize insights.

Automation is where the dramatic shift happens between stage three and stage four. Automating repetitive tasks—onboarding, offboarding, renewal reminders—enables IT to spend time on strategic projects.

Executives care most about three categories: revenue or value impact, cost efficiency, and risk mitigation. When speaking with leadership, frame SaaS initiatives in terms of these outcomes. For example, demonstrate how underutilized licenses create unnecessary cost, or how shadow apps introduce security risk. Providing measurable outcomes helps secure executive buy-in.

We ran a second poll asking participants to identify their organization’s maturity stage. Many organizations place themselves in stage three, with visibility and some insights, but not enough automation to act proactively. This gap often results from limited time, budget, or organizational authority.

When budget is constrained, prioritize ruthlessly. Align efforts to business goals, choose one focus area—cost savings or automation of onboarding—and concentrate on top applications. Ensure SSO coverage for critical apps and improve configuration hygiene. Simple measures, like creating renewal calendars and Slack or email reminders, can start the habit of process-driven management even before full automation.

On application rationalization: first, inventory what you have and identify duplicates. Why do you have multiple project management or file-sharing tools? Map each app to a business goal, then question business owners about necessity and opportunities to consolidate. Use a top-down approach from business objectives to determine whether to renew, replace, or retire tools.

Two-way communication with leadership is crucial. Understand leadership priorities, and bring those priorities into the rationalization process. IT becomes a better partner when it aligns technology decisions with business outcomes.

We have several upcoming webinars in this series. Topics include identifying and fixing gaps in SaaS management and technical debt, building cybersecurity frameworks for SMBs, and data mapping for compliance and security. You can register at toriihq.com/webinars.

Now we will move to Q&A. For those who submitted questions we do not address live, we will follow up by email with answers.

Thank you for joining. We appreciate your time, and we hope you have a great rest of your week.