In today’s fast-paced business environment, small and medium businesses (SMBs) increasingly rely on SaaS (Software as a Service) applications to optimize processes, increase productivity, and reduce costs. However, alongside these benefits comes the responsibility of ensuring strong SaaS security and effective SaaS management. Without proper oversight, your business may face risks like data breaches or compliance violations due to unmanaged applications or poor security practices.
To help your SMB manage SaaS security without complexity, here are five key steps you can follow to safeguard your operations.
Step 1: Develop a Complete SaaS Security Inventory
The first step in securing your SaaS environment is understanding which tools your organization is using. Many SMBs struggle with “Shadow IT,” where employees sign up for SaaS applications without notifying the IT team. This lack of visibility can lead to security risks and vulnerabilities.
To mitigate these risks, create a complete inventory of all the SaaS applications being used in your business. You can start by conducting internal surveys or using automated discovery tools to map out the applications. This inventory will help you assess which tools align with your security standards and compliance requirements, establishing a foundation for effective SaaS management and security.
Step 2: Define SaaS Security Responsibilities
SaaS security is a shared responsibility that involves your IT team, employees, and SaaS vendors. However, the roles and responsibilities often become unclear, leading to security gaps. It's important to clarify who is responsible for different aspects of security within your organization.
For example, your IT team should manage essential security measures such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Single Sign-On (SSO). Employees must be responsible for following best practices, like using strong and unique passwords. Vendors should ensure that they secure your data and comply with relevant regulations. Clearly defining these roles ensures that no aspect of SaaS security is overlooked.
Step 3: Ensure Alignment with Security Policies
SMBs must ensure that their SaaS applications align with their internal security policies. This is especially important if your business must meet specific industry regulations, such as SOC 2, HIPAA, or GDPR.
Review the security features of all SaaS applications to ensure they comply with your policies. Key features to look for include MFA and SSO, which help enhance protection. By aligning your SaaS tools with your company’s security policies and regulatory requirements, you minimize the risk of data breaches and regulatory penalties.
Step 4: Continuously Monitor and Assess SaaS Risks
SaaS security and SaaS management are ongoing processes. As your business evolves, so will the SaaS tools you use. It is essential to regularly assess these applications to ensure they continue to meet security standards and compliance requirements.
One way to stay on top of potential risks is by monitoring security threat intelligence and tracking Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) notifications. Regular security audits and assessments help you identify new risks and vulnerabilities, enabling you to manage your SaaS environment proactively.
Step 5: Leverage SaaS Posture Management Tools
As your SMB grows, managing SaaS applications can become more complex. SaaS posture management tools can help by providing real-time insights into the security configurations of your applications. These tools monitor for misconfigurations, unauthorized access, and other risks, ensuring that your SaaS environment remains secure.
While posture management tools are more common in enterprise-level applications, many are available for SMBs. These tools help you maintain visibility into permissions, security settings, and overall configurations, offering an additional layer of protection for your growing SaaS portfolio.
Top SaaS Security and SaaS Management Solutions for SMBs
To complement your security efforts, here’s a breakdown of five leading SaaS security tools. Selecting the right tool depends on your specific needs for SaaS security and management.
Pros: Waldo Security is an ideal solution for SMBs looking to discover, track, and manage their SaaS applications. It provides insights into which apps are being used, maps them to your company’s compliance and authentication policies, and identifies potential security gaps.
Cons: Waldo excels in discovery and policy alignment but lacks deep SaaS posture management features. If you need detailed insights into app configurations, additional tools may be necessary.
2. Zscaler
Pros: Zscaler offers strong network security for SaaS management, helping businesses block access to unauthorized applications and ensuring network-level protection against security risks.
Cons: Zscaler’s capabilities are focused on network traffic control and do not provide detailed SaaS discovery or management features for identifying which apps are in use within your organization.
3. Varonis
Pros: Varonis is a robust solution for SMBs that use platforms like Office 365. It helps protect sensitive data and provides SaaS posture management to identify and fix misconfigurations.
Cons: Varonis is limited to a few major platforms like Office 365, so if your business uses a wide variety of SaaS tools, it may not provide the coverage you need.
4. Obsidian Security
Pros: Obsidian Security excels at providing advanced security insights into enterprise-level applications, such as Salesforce and Office 365. Its analytics tools help businesses detect vulnerabilities and potential threats.
Cons: Obsidian’s discovery capabilities are limited to apps connected to your identity provider. This means it may not uncover Shadow IT or unmanaged applications in your SaaS stack.
5. Netskope
Pros: Netskope is an excellent SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) tool that helps protect cloud-based apps like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. It provides in-depth visibility into SaaS configurations and permissions.
Cons: Netskope doesn’t offer broad discovery capabilities for SaaS applications, so if your focus is on identifying all SaaS usage, you may need to pair it with other discovery tools.
Conclusion
For small and medium businesses, managing SaaS security can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. By following these five steps—creating a SaaS inventory, defining responsibilities, aligning applications with policies, regularly assessing risks, and leveraging posture management tools—you can secure your SaaS environment while focusing on growing your business.
SaaS security and SaaS management go hand-in-hand. With the right approach and tools, like Waldo Security for compliance mapping or Netskope for posture management, SMBs can achieve enterprise-level protection without the complexity. Protect your business and embrace the advantages of SaaS, all while maintaining strong security in today’s digital world.
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