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What is maverick buying?

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Maverick spending, also known as rogue spending, can be defined as any purchasing that takes place within an organization, outside of an established procurement process.

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In the context of SaaS, maverick spending refers to the acquisition of cloud-based software solutions that are purchased unbeknownst to the finance, IT or procurement teams, and in a way that does not comply with the organization’s formal IT procurement process — and so may not be approved, vetted, or appropriately documented.

What is a single-tenancy environment in cloud computing?

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A single-tenancy environment, also known as dedicated hosting or a dedicated instance, refers to a situation where each user or tenant has their own dedicated infrastructure and resources, including servers, storage and network components. These resources aren’t shared with any other users, maximizing performance and control.

What is zero-based budgeting?

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Zero-based budgeting is an accounting technique that requires all expenses to be justified and approved for each financial period, starting from zero rather than a pre-existing spend. This enables organizations to monitor and assess the necessity of each cost on a more granular level, lowering expenses and promoting fiscal responsibility.

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Originally conceived in the 1970s, zero-based budgeting isn’t a new idea — but in the current economic climate, accounting for every dollar is helping businesses to regain control over their outgoings. The technique can be applied to a wide range of costs, from research and development to asset management.

What is decentralized procurement?

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Decentralized purchasing in SaaS refers to the process of allowing individual departments or teams within an organization to make their own purchasing decisions for software applications. This is in contrast to a centralized purchasing model, where all purchasing decisions are approved by a single procurement team or a department such as finance.
While a decentralized purchasing model can provide teams with the flexibility to select and purchase the tools that best meet their needs, without having to wait for approvals or navigate bureaucratic purchasing processes, it can create challenges for the company. This can include reduced buying power, higher costs, lack of control over vendor relationships, and increased compliance and legal risks.

What is Cloud Cost Optimization?

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Cloud cost optimization refers to the process of reducing and optimizing cloud spending, while ensuring optimal resource utilization and maintaining desired performance levels. It ultimately involves managing cloud costs without compromising business objectives or user experience.

What is a Master Service Agreement?

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A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is a contract between two parties, in this case the software provider and the buyer, outlining the terms and conditions of the agreement. It will typically cover pricing, payment terms, service levels, intellectual property rights, confidentiality, liability, termination, and dispute resolution.

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Unlike a service level agreement (SLA) which outlines the specific performance metrics and criteria for the delivery of a particular service, for example uptime guarantees and support response times, an MSA covers the broader terms of the business relationship.