PDS Health faced a challenge familiar to many large-scale organizations: overseeing SaaS security across more than 1,000 locations in a decentralized security environment.
“Managing our rapidly growing SaaS environment was overwhelming due to the complexity and scale,” explained Nemi George, CISO and VP of IT and PDS Health. "We want our organization to be nimble, innovative, and proactive in responding to the needs of our customers. But imagine trying to keep track of who has access to what across over a thousand locations without a central viewpoint. We were especially concerned about the SaaS applications obtained outside of our (IT’s) control.”
"We want our organization to be nimble and innovative, but we were concerned about the SaaS applications accessed outside of IT's control."
- Nemi George, CISO and VP of IT
Prior to using Grip Security, employees were expected to self-report their use of SaaS applications or rely on IT relying on endpoint agents or firewall logs to determine applications being used - a method fraught with gaps and inaccuracies. The lack of visibility into shadow IT—where unsanctioned software could be running unbeknownst to IT management—posed a significant risk to security, making efficient resource management difficult. Even more significant than unsanctioned software was the lack of visibility into data stored within these SaaS applications.
The Challenges
PDS Health sought to manage these security challenges, including:
Increasing Shadow SaaS Volume.
While PDS Health believed in empowering employees to choose the tools they needed to perform their roles, the exponential growth of SaaS applications and the data accessed and stored within them posed a significant risk that needed to be managed effectively. Further, the security team had no visibility into the SaaS applications being used or how employees accessed them.
Inability to Identify SaaS for Authentication. With over 400 SaaS apps plus rogue accounts outside of IT’s purview, determining which apps needed tighter authentication methods was cumbersome. “We had no SSO visibility or how employees were accessing their apps, how many users, or how frequently they were using them,” said Alex Coltuneac, Identity and Access Manager.
“We had no visibility into how employees were accessing their apps.”
– Alex Coltuneac, Identity & Access Manager
Inefficient SaaS Offboarding.
A large organization always has a steady stream of employees coming and going. Ensuring SaaS applications had been properly offboarded when an employee left was time-consuming and problematic, especially for the apps procured outside of IT.
The Solution
PDS Health was introduced to Grip about 3 years ago. Grip offered a platform that promised to illuminate the shadow SaaS lurking in their tech environment and provide actionable insights into how SaaS applications were accessed across the enterprise.
"PDS Health has a substantial and mature IAM program, yet we lacked visibility of the SaaS that was outside of our IAM software. Grip wasn't the first solution we considered, but it was the only one that seemed to grasp the scale of our challenges," said Nemi. “The platform offered a comprehensive view of who was using which SaaS apps, significantly improving PDS's ability to control and optimize our security measures and resources.”
“Grip was the only solution that seemed to grasp the scale of our challenges.”
- Nemi George, CISO and VP of IT
Besides identifying shadow SaaS applications, implementing offboarding workflows was one of the first things PDS Health did. Alex's team could automate the offboarding workflow, and effectively manage scoping removal and revoking access to accounts.
Grip also helped Alex’s team manage SaaS governance, prioritizing applications that required Single Sign-On (SSO)
and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to enhance their
security posture.
"Before Grip, figuring out if an app supported SSO/MFA was a significant drain on our resources. Now, it's all at our fingertips," Alex noted with relief.
Demonstrating Impact
Since implementing Grip, PDS Health has strengthened its security posture and experienced substantial benefits in asset management, optimizing SaaS licenses across the board. "It's gone beyond just security; it's about holistic management of our resources now," Alex commented.
Grip provides a clear view of all apps in use, sanctioned and unsanctioned, and how many employees use them, allowing them to optimize licenses and secure enterprise accounts in some instances.
Additionally, Grip has saved Alex and her team an estimated 400 hours in SSO identification, and the automated offboarding workflows have provided peace of mind as they no longer have to worry about the risks from abandoned accounts.
"It's gone beyond just security; it's about holistic management of our resources.”
– Alex Coltuneac, Identity & Access Manager
Looking Ahead
Looking forward, Alex is optimistic about Grip's extended impact. “In the beginning, I logged into Grip once per week. Now, it’s a daily activity. There’s so much insight—the more you use it, the more value you gain,” she said.
For PDS Health, finding Grip was more than a solution—it was a transformation.
Reflecting on the journey, Nemi concluded, "It's not just about controlling SaaS applications and shadow IT; it's about empowering your teams to do more, with more confidence and less risk. That's what Grip has done for us."
