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SaaS Procurement, Negotiation & Cost Optimization
Rating: 4.0 out of 5(35 ratings)
1,730 students

SaaS Procurement, Negotiation & Cost Optimization

SaaS procurement essentials: negotiate contracts, control renewals, optimize licenses, and reduce subscription costs.
Created bySergii Dovgalenko, FCIPS
Last updated 10/2026
English
English [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • Build a practical SaaS sourcing and negotiation strategy using pricing, licensing, TCO, and market analysis.
  • Identify unused licences, overlapping tools, renewal risks, price increases, and vendor lock-in.
  • Evaluate SaaS proposals using ACV, TCV, NPV, usage metrics, licensing models, and contract terms.
  • Negotiate SaaS renewals with stronger levers for pricing, scalability, service levels, compliance, and exit.

Course content

3 sections • 30 lectures • 1h 53m total length

  • Introduction: SaaS Industry Trends and Procurement Challenges6:46

    A few essential facts about the SaaS industry and the vital importance of demand and asset management.

  • SaaS Performance Benchmarks and Negotiation Levers2:27

    SaaS industry performance benchmarks and the commercial levers they create for buyers.

  • G2 Report: “AI — Always Included” (2025)1:45

    Examine key findings from G2’s 2025 report and their implications for SaaS procurement, licensing, and cost control.

  • Microsoft AI Licensing and Software Inflation: Practice #16:35

    This session unpacks Microsoft’s AI licensing through real-world usage of Power Automate, AI Builder, and Copilot Agents. We explore what each Copilot actually does (and costs), how AI features drive silent software inflation, and what smart organizations do to stay in control. From message-based billing to license segmentation and cost governance — you’ll leave knowing exactly what to ask, what to monitor, and what not to overspend on.

  • SaaS Vendor Quarterly Report Analysis3:42

    Atlassian quarterly report analysis to prepare for negotiations.

  • Modern dynamics of SaaS negotiations5:23

    SaaS negotiations are so much more than just price wars with suppliers. We will touch upon critical pillars, opportunities, and challenges of SaaS negotiations.

  • Information asymmetry between a buyer and a seller in SaaS negotiations.2:43

    We will analyze a classical economic problem of the information asymmetry between buyers and sellers in the SaaS context.

  • Practice #2: Compare ACV, TCV and NPV in SaaS Deals7:01

    Compare annual contract value, total contract value, and net present value to evaluate SaaS proposals and negotiation options.

  • Buy Classes in the Buygrid Framework4:35

    The Buygrid Framework (1967) classical procurement theory analyzes the industrial (B2B) buying behavior and business processes.

    It presents industrial buying not as a single event but as an organizational decision-making process where multiple individuals decide on a purchase.

  • Applying the Buygrid Framework to Supplier Selection3:31

    We will employ the Buygrid Theory to identify different supplier selection scenarios.

  • NIST Cloud Computing Model: What SaaS Buyers Need to Know3:12

    Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

  • Comparing SaaS, PaaS and IaaS2:53

    Three types of cloud services as per NIST standards.

  • Dropbox Case Study.2:58

    Dropbox shifts 90% of operations from AWS to a custom infrastructure, using volume discounts, performance clauses, and long-term partnerships to save $75 million and improve latency and uploads.

  • SaaS Licensing Units, Usage Metrics and Cost Drivers4:33

    Understanding the SaaS sizing logic is as vital as knowing the license cost. We will provide some critical hints and discuss the license units of measure.

  • Practice #3: Evaluate the Workday Licensing Model3:10

    Workday Work Order demonstrates using FSE (Full Service Equivalent) and a few more valuable tips for your SaaS negotiations.

  • SaaS: Product, Subscription or Service?2:13

    We will explain the SaaS transformation from a commodity into a complex technology service.

  • SaaS Maintenance and Support: Commercial Implications3:49

    Although support and maintenance are included in the SaaS subscription fees, there are some aspects we have to be mindful of, e.g., perfective and adaptive maintenance.

  • Software Asset Management and ISO/IEC 19770-1:20175:40

    We will briefly touch upon the ITAM Framework of digital asset management and its vital importance.

  • SAP and Oracle Licensing Disputes: Lessons for Buyers3:35

    Explore SAP and Oracle licensing disputes to show how indirect access, named-user terms, and virtualization drive compliance, audits, and negotiations, guiding proactive, flexible licensing strategies.

  • Thank you for Studying!0:07

Requirements

  • No prior SaaS procurement or negotiation expertise is required
  • Basic familiarity with subscription software is useful but not essential
  • An interest in controlling software costs, improving contracts, or managing SaaS suppliers

Description

Control SaaS costs and prepare for stronger supplier negotiations.

SaaS spend can grow through unused licenses, overlapping tools, automatic renewals, changing usage, and price increases. This course gives procurement, IT and commercial professionals a practical way to examine those costs and prepare for the next sourcing decision or renewal.

Across short lessons and exercises, you will work through SaaS pricing and licensing, compare offers using ACV, TCV and NPV, examine commercial terms, and build a negotiation plan. The course also covers usage measures, vendor dependency, contract risks and the questions buyers should ask before agreeing to a renewal.

You will learn how to:

  • Identify licence waste, cost drivers and renewal exposure.

  • Compare SaaS proposals beyond the headline subscription price.

  • Prepare negotiation levers for pricing, usage, service and exit terms.

  • Examine a commercial offer and challenge unclear charges or scope.

  • Use a structured plan for a SaaS supplier negotiation.

The course includes practice activities, a SaaS contract risk and negotiation checklist, and a downloadable SaaS cost optimization checklist.

It is intended for procurement and IT category managers, contract and commercial managers, and finance or IT professionals involved in software buying. No prior SaaS procurement expertise is required.

The course includes access to the online AI-powered IT sourcing strategy generator. 

Who this course is for:

  • Procurement and IT procurement professionals responsible for software sourcing and renewals
  • Category managers managing SaaS spend, licensing, contracts, or vendor relationships
  • Commercial, contract, finance, and IT professionals involved in SaaS purchasing decisions
  • Professionals seeking practical SaaS negotiation and cost-control methods

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