According to a new report, software as a service (SaaS) adoption is slowing despite widespread popularity.

BetterCloud has released its 2023 State of SaaSOps report, shedding light on the SaaS industry. The report contains feedback from 743 IT and security professionals, providing valuable insights into the state of affairs.

Some 40% of those polled reported consolidating redundant SaaS apps, accounting for a significant slowdown in adoption. Despite the slower pace, adoption is still up 18% from last year, with organizations using an average of 130 SaaS apps.

Interestingly, despite the importance of SaaS, 59% of those polled reported it was a challenge to manage “SaaS sprawl,” with shadow IT being a prime culprit. Shadow IT refers to instances where departments within an organization deploy their own IT systems without the oversight of the IT department. Demonstrating the extent of the problem, respondents reported that 65% of all SaaS services are deployed without authorization from IT, raising additional security and privacy concerns.

In response to these challenges, IT departments are increasingly bringing SaaS services under their control, with 57% doing so in the last 12 months. Many IT departments are also turning to automation to help manage their SaaS services, with 71% having automated at least one help desk service and 43% having a dedicated SaaSOps automation role or team.

Despite the challenges, BetterCloud is optimistic about the future of the SaaS industry.

“This is our tenth year surveying IT about the SaaS-powered workplace and one thing remains true: SaaS is critical to doing business and to providing a better employee experience,” said David Politis, CEO, BetterCloud, in a statement to WPN. “Yet, in the last few years, the rush to adopt SaaS has outpaced IT’s ability to keep up with management and security challenges. Our research this year highlights these growing pains, but also shows that investments in automation are helping IT stay one step ahead of SaaS application growth.”

BetterCloud’s 2023 State of SaaSOps report is well worth a read and contains additional insights into the industry that every IT professional should know.

Download the report here.