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What is a SaaS stack?

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A SaaS stack is a collection of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications and tools that are used across an organization. While the specific contents of any SaaS stack will vary depending on the nature of the business, it will typically consist of communication, collaboration, sales, marketing, HR, finance and data analytics software.

What is a multi-tenancy environment?

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In cloud computing, a multi-tenancy environment refers to a situation where multiple users, also referred to as tenants, share the same physical infrastructure and resources. These resources, such as computing power, memory and storage are dynamically allocated based on the needs of each tenant. Each tenant’s data is, however, stored in separate databases to ensure both privacy and security.

What is SaaS management?

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SaaS management is the process of identifying, managing, and governing the software applications that exist within an organization’s technology portfolio.

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When software goes unmanaged, it not only puts the business at risk of data breaches and security issues, but it can also lead to a substantial amount of wasted spend as a result of redundant and duplicate SaaS apps, not to mention unused licenses.

What are price uplifts?

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In the context of SaaS, price uplifts refer to an increase in the price of a software subscription. While many software providers will implement price uplifts on an annual basis, typically at the point of renewal, others may review and amend their pricing more frequently, for example on a quarterly basis. It is recommended that buyers negotiate a price uplift cap during the initial contract negotiation stage, placing a limit on the maximum amount the subscription can be increased by within a specified time period.

What is an ELA?

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An Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) is a contract between a software vendor and an enterprise customer that sets out the terms and conditions for the licensing of software products across an enterprise. Unlike a Master License Agreement (MLA) which is a more comprehensive business agreement that can cover a range of products and services, an ELA is often used for specific software products.

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While the specific terms and conditions of an ELA can vary, it will typically outline the number and type of licenses covered under the agreement, restrictions or limitation on usage, the duration of the agreement, the fees associated with the license, renewal terms and termination clauses.

What are reserved instances?

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Reserved Instances (RIs) are a pricing and capacity reservation offering provided by AWS for their EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and RDS (Relational Database Service) services.

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They specifically allow users to commit to using a specific instance type in the same region for either a one or three-year term, in exchange for discounts of up to 72% – the exact discount is ultimately dependent on the commitment term, instance type, availability zone and region.

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There are various types of Reserved Instances available, each with different terms and levels of flexibility. Standard Reserved Instances provide the highest cost savings but are the least flexible, whereas Convertible Reserved Instances offer more flexibility by allowing you to change instance families within the same instance type.

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In contrast, Scheduled Reserved Instances offer a lower discount, but allow you to reserve capacity for specific time windows, such as business hours or weekends, providing cost savings for predictable workloads.