Today's enterprises spend millions on SaaS, with Microsoft 365 and Salesforce often at the top of the stack. But how much of that spend is actually used, needed, or optimized?
A proper SaaS spend audit reveals hidden waste, misaligned licenses, dormant users, and missed opportunities for cost savings.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through exactly what to look for during a Microsoft 365 and Salesforce audit, how to interpret the data, and the tools to automate the process.
SaaS spend audits for Microsoft 365 and Salesforce should focus on identifying and eliminating wasted spend, improving security, and ensuring efficient license utilization. Key areas to examine include unused or underutilized licenses, overlapping functionality, and adherence to security best practices.
Microsoft 365:
License Optimization:
Review assigned licenses to identify users with inactive accounts or who are on higher-cost plans than their usage warrants.
Usage Analysis:
Analyze which Microsoft 365 apps are being used and by whom to identify potential areas for optimization, such as downgrading to lower-cost plans or eliminating unused subscriptions.
Security Posture:
Evaluate security settings, such as multi-factor authentication, password policies, and login IP restrictions, to ensure compliance with best practices and minimize security risks.
Shadow IT:
Investigate if any Microsoft 365 services are being used without IT's knowledge, as this can lead to security vulnerabilities and uncontrolled spending.
Compliance:
Ensure adherence to compliance regulations like PCI DSS and ASC 606, especially if Microsoft 365 is used for financial transactions or revenue recognition.
Salesforce:
User Access Review:
Examine user permissions and access levels to ensure that users only have access to the necessary data and functionality, preventing unauthorized access and data breaches.
License Optimization:
Identify inactive users, underutilized licenses, and duplicate licenses to optimize spending.
Customization Review:
Evaluate custom code, configurations, and integrations to ensure they are necessary, secure, and optimized for Salesforce limits.
Security Configuration:
Review security settings, including login IP ranges, password policies, and multi-factor authentication, to minimize security risks.
Data Security:
Assess data access controls, sharing rules, and data retention policies to ensure data privacy and compliance with regulations.
Integrations:
Review integrations with other systems to ensure they are secure, efficient, and aligned with business needs.
Performance Monitoring:
Monitor Salesforce usage and performance to identify bottlenecks and areas for optimization.
General SaaS Spend Audit Recommendations:
Centralized Procurement:
Implement a process for centralizing SaaS procurement to improve visibility and control over spending.
SaaS Governance:
Establish policies for subscription lengths, data ownership/security, and vendor management.
SaaS Management Platforms:
Consider using SaaS management platforms to automate many processes, including procurement, spending analytics, and optimization.
Employee Feedback:
Regularly gather employee feedback about their SaaS tools to understand their needs and identify areas for improvement.
Automated Audits:
Utilize automated auditing tools to streamline the process and identify potential issues more quickly and efficiently.
1. Inactive or Disabled Users Still Licensed
2. License Mismatch
3. Add-On Redundancy
4. Group and Shared Mailboxes
5. Persona-Based Rightsizing
🧠 CloudNuro Insight:
Organizations typically discover 15–25% of E5 licenses are oversized when evaluated per user persona.
1. Feature Utilization
2. Permission Set vs License Type
3. Inactive Users
4. Duplicated Licenses
5. Department-Level Consumption
🧠 CloudNuro Insight:
One enterprise reduced its Salesforce cost by $220K/year by downgrading 112 read-only users and removing 78 dormant accounts.
Tools to Automate SaaS Spend Audits
You don’t need to rely on manual spreadsheets.
Top tools for license audits:
🎯 CloudNuro.ai stands out with Scaledown Reports, Over/Under-Licensing Dashboards, and Departmental Chargebacks.
SaaS spend audits for Microsoft 365 and Salesforce aren’t a one-time task; they’re a critical governance practice that reduces costs, increases visibility, and ensures every license contributes to business value.
Done manually, audits are slow. Done with the right tools, they’re transformative.
🔍 Let CloudNuro.ai show you what’s wasting money in your Microsoft 365 and Salesforce environments.
👉 Book a Free License Audit Demo
Get rightsizing reports, deprovisioning recommendations, and ROI modeling, in minutes, not weeks.
Request a no cost, no obligation free assessment —just 15 minutes to savings!
Get StartedToday's enterprises spend millions on SaaS, with Microsoft 365 and Salesforce often at the top of the stack. But how much of that spend is actually used, needed, or optimized?
A proper SaaS spend audit reveals hidden waste, misaligned licenses, dormant users, and missed opportunities for cost savings.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through exactly what to look for during a Microsoft 365 and Salesforce audit, how to interpret the data, and the tools to automate the process.
SaaS spend audits for Microsoft 365 and Salesforce should focus on identifying and eliminating wasted spend, improving security, and ensuring efficient license utilization. Key areas to examine include unused or underutilized licenses, overlapping functionality, and adherence to security best practices.
Microsoft 365:
License Optimization:
Review assigned licenses to identify users with inactive accounts or who are on higher-cost plans than their usage warrants.
Usage Analysis:
Analyze which Microsoft 365 apps are being used and by whom to identify potential areas for optimization, such as downgrading to lower-cost plans or eliminating unused subscriptions.
Security Posture:
Evaluate security settings, such as multi-factor authentication, password policies, and login IP restrictions, to ensure compliance with best practices and minimize security risks.
Shadow IT:
Investigate if any Microsoft 365 services are being used without IT's knowledge, as this can lead to security vulnerabilities and uncontrolled spending.
Compliance:
Ensure adherence to compliance regulations like PCI DSS and ASC 606, especially if Microsoft 365 is used for financial transactions or revenue recognition.
Salesforce:
User Access Review:
Examine user permissions and access levels to ensure that users only have access to the necessary data and functionality, preventing unauthorized access and data breaches.
License Optimization:
Identify inactive users, underutilized licenses, and duplicate licenses to optimize spending.
Customization Review:
Evaluate custom code, configurations, and integrations to ensure they are necessary, secure, and optimized for Salesforce limits.
Security Configuration:
Review security settings, including login IP ranges, password policies, and multi-factor authentication, to minimize security risks.
Data Security:
Assess data access controls, sharing rules, and data retention policies to ensure data privacy and compliance with regulations.
Integrations:
Review integrations with other systems to ensure they are secure, efficient, and aligned with business needs.
Performance Monitoring:
Monitor Salesforce usage and performance to identify bottlenecks and areas for optimization.
General SaaS Spend Audit Recommendations:
Centralized Procurement:
Implement a process for centralizing SaaS procurement to improve visibility and control over spending.
SaaS Governance:
Establish policies for subscription lengths, data ownership/security, and vendor management.
SaaS Management Platforms:
Consider using SaaS management platforms to automate many processes, including procurement, spending analytics, and optimization.
Employee Feedback:
Regularly gather employee feedback about their SaaS tools to understand their needs and identify areas for improvement.
Automated Audits:
Utilize automated auditing tools to streamline the process and identify potential issues more quickly and efficiently.
1. Inactive or Disabled Users Still Licensed
2. License Mismatch
3. Add-On Redundancy
4. Group and Shared Mailboxes
5. Persona-Based Rightsizing
🧠 CloudNuro Insight:
Organizations typically discover 15–25% of E5 licenses are oversized when evaluated per user persona.
1. Feature Utilization
2. Permission Set vs License Type
3. Inactive Users
4. Duplicated Licenses
5. Department-Level Consumption
🧠 CloudNuro Insight:
One enterprise reduced its Salesforce cost by $220K/year by downgrading 112 read-only users and removing 78 dormant accounts.
Tools to Automate SaaS Spend Audits
You don’t need to rely on manual spreadsheets.
Top tools for license audits:
🎯 CloudNuro.ai stands out with Scaledown Reports, Over/Under-Licensing Dashboards, and Departmental Chargebacks.
SaaS spend audits for Microsoft 365 and Salesforce aren’t a one-time task; they’re a critical governance practice that reduces costs, increases visibility, and ensures every license contributes to business value.
Done manually, audits are slow. Done with the right tools, they’re transformative.
🔍 Let CloudNuro.ai show you what’s wasting money in your Microsoft 365 and Salesforce environments.
👉 Book a Free License Audit Demo
Get rightsizing reports, deprovisioning recommendations, and ROI modeling, in minutes, not weeks.
Request a no cost, no obligation free assessment —just 15 minutes to savings!
Get Started
CloudNuro Corp
1755 Park St. Suite 207
Naperville, IL 60563
Phone : +1-630-277-9470
Email: info@cloudnuro.com
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