What is SaaS Sprawl?

SaaS sprawl refers to the uncontrolled growth and unmanaged use of Software as a Service (SaaS) applications within an organization. SaaS sprawl occurs when employees independently adopt various SaaS tools without centralized oversight from IT or security teams. The ease of subscribing to cloud-based applications means that departments or individuals can quickly sign up for services without considering the broader organizational impact. SaaS sprawl creates numerous challenges, including increased security risks, compliance issues, and unnecessary costs.

Key Risks of SaaS Sprawl

Unmanaged Applications: Employees can easily sign up for and use SaaS applications without going through IT approval processes. Without oversight, IT teams may be unaware of what tools are in use, resulting in a proliferation of unapproved and untracked software.

Increased Security Risks: Each unmonitored SaaS application introduces new credentials, access points, and potential vulnerabilities, significantly expanding the organization's attack surface. This makes it easier for cybercriminals to exploit these weak points, leading to data breaches and other security incidents.

Compliance and Governance Challenges: The widespread use of SaaS applications without proper governance complicates maintaining compliance with industry regulations, especially if sensitive data is being stored or processed in apps that lack the necessary security certifications.

Data Silos: Different SaaS applications may store data independently, leading to fragmented and siloed information that can be difficult to integrate and analyze across the organization.

Cost Management: The cumulative cost of multiple SaaS subscriptions can become significant, especially when there is overlap in functionality between different tools. Without oversight, unmanaged subscription fees can balloon, resulting in significant inefficiencies and increased operational costs.

Productivity and Collaboration Challenges: While SaaS applications can boost productivity, the lack of standardization and integration between various tools can hinder effective collaboration and workflow management.

Management Complexity: IT departments face increased difficulty in managing software licenses, ensuring data security, and providing user support across a sprawling array of SaaS applications. Without visibility into the entire SaaS landscape, IT teams may struggle to keep up with security risks, software updates, and usage patterns.

How to Manage SaaS Sprawl

To address SaaS sprawl, organizations often implement SaaS identity risk management (SIRM) platforms or adopt policies and practices to better govern the use of SaaS applications. This includes creating approval processes, consolidating tools with overlapping functionalities, and regularly auditing the SaaS applications in use to ensure they align with organizational standards and security protocols.

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