How to Help Clients Detect and Eliminate Overlapping SaaS Subscriptions

SaaS overlap is a problem that many organizations experience. Many businesses lose track of their subscriptions and inadvertently pay for tools they don’t really need anymore. Being proactive in reviewing and managing these tools can help optimize workflows, cut costs, and strengthen security and compliance by reducing sprawl.

A guide on how to get better usage from SaaS subscriptions

To make the most out of your SaaS subscriptions, you need to constantly review your applications. Build an inventory of all the applications you use and sort them into categories. See if there are overlaps and collaborate with other department heads to see which apps should be retained, retired, or renegotiated with vendors.

📌 Prerequisites:

• You must have access to SaaS usage logs from IdPs (e.g., Microsoft Entra ID, Okta).
• You should have client expense or finance reports for subscription costs ready for review.
• You need a platform that can serve as a central SaaS inventory (spreadsheet or low-code platform).
• You need basic reporting or visualization tools (Excel, Power BI, or PSA dashboards).

📌 Recommended deployment strategies:

Step 1: Build a complete SaaS inventory

First, you have to collect SaaS app data from each branch of your organization. This can come from identity providers, financial systems, and network logs. After that, consolidate all the information into a central inventory and CSV file.

Make sure that each entry has the following:

• App name
• Department that uses it
• The owner
• The cost of the app
• Number of active app users

Step 2: Categorize applications by function

Once you’ve made an inventory of all your SaaS apps, it’s time to sort them into useful categories. This will allow you to more easily see which apps serve the same function and have become redundant. Here are a few sample categories you can use:

• Communication (Slack, Teams, Zoom)
• Project Management (Asana, Trello, Monday.com)
• File Sharing (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive)

Add or remove categories according to your needs.

Step 3: Compare usage and costs

Go through each category and the apps within them. Look at how many people are actively using the application compared to how many licenses you own. What is the cost per seat, and how much do you spend overall on the subscription?

You should also analyze how well the app has been adopted into your ongoing workflows over time. This data-driven approach will allow you to more easily identify which SaaS apps in your inventory are low-value and redundant.

Step 4: Engage stakeholders for context

Once you’ve finished analyzing the data, it’s time to engage with the other stakeholders. Share your findings with other department leaders. Ask them the following questions:

• Is redundancy intentional (e.g., tool preference)?
• Can usage be consolidated?
• Are duplicates a temporary need?

Before retiring some applications, you need to be sure that they won’t impede workflows and prevent employees from doing their job. This will provide you with more context and allow you to see how these apps are being used.

Step 5: Recommend consolidation options

Provide your recommendations to your department heads. You can tell them to:

• Retain the most cost-effective or widely adopted tool.
• Retire or consolidate underused or expensive tools.
• Negotiate vendor licenses based on reduced seats.

Negotiate with department leaders and get their perspectives. Ensure that even if apps are retired, they still have all the tools they need to accomplish all their goals and meet their targets.

Step 6: Establish recurring review cycles

Reviewing your organization’s SaaS subscriptions shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Propose a quarterly or semi-annual review to ensure that you’re always on top of your apps. You can also align with other departments during quarterly business reviews (QBR) to keep app governance consistent.

By doing this, you can ensure that the SaaS apps you’re subscribed to remain useful and relevant. It prevents redundancy and wasting your resources.

Best practices summary table for reviewing app redundancy

Optional automation snippet

Here’s a sample Windows PowerShell snippet that will help you automate the process of detecting and eliminating overlapping SaaS subscriptions:

# Identify overlapping SaaS apps by category

$inventory = Import-Csv saas_inventory.csv

$inventory | Group-Object Category | Where-Object { $_.Group.Count -gt 1 } |

Select Name, @{Name="AppCount";Expression={$_.Group.Count}}

This snippet will import the CSV file of your SaaS inventory. It will filter out categories that only have one app inside, since they won’t have the issue of app overlap. After that, it will create a table showing apps from categories that have multiple entries. This makes it easier to see which applications overlap or are redundant.

NinjaOne integration to help manage SaaS app sprawl

• You can use the NinjaOne endpoint inventory as a baseline and then enrich it with SaaS subscription and usage data.
• You can document overlaps in NinjaOne’s notes or PSA-linked tickets.
• Present overlap insights in QBR reports alongside endpoint data through reports generated through NinjaOne tools.

Cut costs by properly managing SaaS subscriptions

Deleting unnecessary SaaS applications is an easy way for MSPs and their clients to cut costs. And it’s not a complicated process. Just build a complete SaaS inventory, categorize tools by function, compare usage and cost, collaborate with stakeholders, and embed reviews into client governance. This way, you can reduce SaaS waste, simplify tech stacks, strengthen governance and compliance, and deliver measurable ROIs during QBRs.

Related Links:

• What is IT Asset Management: A Comprehensive Overview
• The Top Five Benefits of SaaS IT Management Solutions
• Software Inventory Reports