Results at a glance
In 2020, Amboss engaged Sastrify to take a closer look at its overall spend on SaaS tools — and to assist with optimizing that spend, finding less expensive alternatives, and generally maximizing its investment in SaaS. Here’s a closer look at the results the Sastrify team delivered for Amboss.
Different Approaches to Reducing SaaS Spend
When Amboss gave Sastrify the green light to begin managing its SaaS negotiations, Sastrify jumped right
in and started working platform-by-platform to find ways for Amboss to save money.
Google Workspace: Finding the Right Reseller
Amboss had traditionally purchased G Suite licenses directly from Google. As the migration to Workspace became a reality, Amboss realized that it would be forced to significantly increase its spend on this tool.
While many companies prefer to have the threat of switching to a competitor when entering SaaS negotiations, switching is not always a realistic option. The time, effort and resources needed to switch from something like Workspace to a similar suite of cloud-based apps is often untenable. That was the case for Amboss. The company had to find a way to make this relationship work without breaking its bottom line, and it was Sastrify’s job to help them achieve that objective.
There is one option available to legacy G Suite users that often goes unexplored: buying from a reseller.
As Google started the process of moving G Suite users to Workspace, it made available significant discounts through resellers that it did not offer to users buying Workspace directly from the vendor. Once Sastrify identified the right reseller, it mitigated the price increase Amboss faced while moving from G Suite to Workspace.
It was clearly the best option for Amboss. In the end, Amboss chose to upgrade to an
Enterprise plan, allowing it to reduce overall spend on Workspace by 60% — saving $250,000 over the course of a 3-year contract.
Peakon: Setting Expectations and Realizing Maximum Savings
Amboss’s human resources director was searching for an HR platform that would provide feedback and performance features as the company grew quickly during the COVID-19 crisis. Amboss asked Sastrify to help with both the tool selection process and contract negotiations.
Sastrify began joining calls with potential HR platforms to help Amboss evaluate its options. Peakon soon separated itself as the best option for the company, and so the Sastrify team facilitated a price-finding process for both sides. With the help of Sastrify’s internal database of SaaS prices for enterprise-level users, Amboss knew exactly what discount would be possible compared to the initial price offered by Peakon. Sastrify was able to advise Amboss that better discounts would be available to a company its size. Before even starting the negotiation process, Amboss was able to align its budget and expectations with a price point for Peakon that it knew was realistic.
Ultimately, Sastrify’s participation in the process shortened the negotiation window and resulted in benefits to both the client and the vendor. Amboss was able to sign a contract for Peakon at a rate 40% lower than what was initially offered, and the vendor was able to close a deal without an unnecessarily long pricing discussion.
DeepDyve: Locking in Legacy Pricing
As Amboss was finishing its contract negotiations with Peakon, it was also facing a situation where DeepDyve was moving to a new pricing model. This new pricing model would have forced Amboss to pay significantly more for the service. But, anytime a SaaS product is moving to a new pricing model, existing users have an opportunity to lock in legacy pricing over an extended contract.
Sastrify helped Amboss negotiate a 2-year contract with DeepDyve at its existing pricing level. This agreement, made ahead of DeepDyve’s move to the new pricing model, locked in significant savings while creating cost certainty for Amboss.
During the negotiations, Sastrify provided Amboss with a scenario analysis that demonstrated how costs would develop under the new pricing model versus the old pricing model. This analysis helped the client make a decision that would serve its best interests while also taking into account the company’s projected growth and how use of the tool would likely increase in the coming months and years.
Sastrify also supported Amboss in making decisions around tool configuration. What would be the lowest level of service Amboss could buy while still getting the value it needed from a tool like DeepDyve? This buy-better approach to SaaS procurement is a common way to find savings.
Between staying on legacy pricing and optimizing its level of service, Amboss was able to realize 10–35% savings over the life of the contract, depending on how its usage of DeepDyve grows over time.
"It was really helpful to have Sastrify do the number-crunching and analysis of how we should handle the pricing shift,” (Karolina Kącka, a member of the Amboss legal team)
Custom SaaS Procurement and Management Solutions
Your company is unique, and so too is its relationship with every software it uses. When it comes to finding the right tool, when it comes to renegotiating a contract with an existing SaaS tool, or when it comes to optimizing usage and spend, your company deserves a unique SaaS procurement and management solution.
Get in touch with us today to talk about getting your own Savings Analysis — so that you can start optimizing your SaaS tool usage while reducing your overall SaaS tool spend.
