As organizations move their applications and infrastructure to the cloud, effective management of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) applications becomes increasingly important. However, traditional Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools are not designed to manage SaaS and IaaS applications, which are accessed over the internet rather than through a local network. As a result, SaaS Management Platforms (SMPs) continue to be adopted by IT organizations that have traditionally relied solely on RMM products.

SMPs are cloud-based platforms that provide centralized management and visibility into an organization’s SaaS applications. These platforms offer a range of features, including user provisioning and de-provisioning, application usage monitoring, license management, and security and compliance management. SMPs also provide automation capabilities, allowing organizations to automate routine tasks such as user onboarding and offboarding.

The key advantage of SMPs over traditional RMM tools is their ability to manage cloud-based applications. While RMM tools are designed to manage on-premises infrastructure and applications, SMPs are purpose-built for managing SaaS and IaaS applications. This is important because many organizations are moving away from on-premises infrastructure in favor of cloud-based solutions. In fact, a recent survey found that 87% of IT decision-makers plan to increase their use of cloud-based services in the coming year.

Another advantage of SMPs is their ability to support a wide range of SaaS applications. Unlike traditional RMM tools, which typically only support a limited number of applications, SMPs are designed to work with a wide range of cloud-based solutions, including productivity tools like Microsoft 365, customer relationship management (CRM) systems like Salesforce, and collaboration tools like Slack.

In addition to their SaaS management capabilities, SMPs also offer a range of other benefits, including improved security and compliance, reduced costs, and increased efficiency. By providing centralized management and visibility into an organization’s SaaS applications, SMPs can help improve security by identifying and addressing potential vulnerabilities. They can also help organizations ensure compliance with industry regulations by providing detailed reporting and auditing capabilities.

From a cost perspective, SMPs can help organizations reduce costs by providing centralized license management, which can help eliminate overprovisioning of licenses. SMPs can also help reduce IT staff workload by automating routine tasks such as user onboarding and offboarding. Finally, by providing a single platform for managing all SaaS applications, SMPs can help increase efficiency by empowering IT Service Desk teams to easily remediate a majority of SaaS service requests, instead of escalating these requests to senior IT for remediation.

As organizations continue to move their applications and infrastructure to the cloud, the need for effective management of SaaS and IaaS applications becomes increasingly important. Traditional RMM tools are not designed to manage cloud-based applications, which is why the rise of SaaS Management Platforms will continue to make headway with IT Service Providers and Enterprise IT. SMPs provide a range of benefits, including centralized management, improved security and compliance, reduced costs, and increased efficiency, making them an essential tool for any organization looking to effectively manage their SaaS and IaaS applications