In an ideal world, IT teams want to empower employees to adopt technologies that will both enhance productivity and keep the business secure and compliant. Unfortunately, employees often have no way of knowing which tools fit the business’s requirements as well as their own. And because user-led growth often leads to SaaS administration falling under the department using a particular tool rather than on central IT, getting access can be slow and frustrating. 

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Facing a choice between navigating lengthy access request or approval processes and clicking a few buttons to sign up for something new, it’s no wonder we so often end up with SaaS sprawl. 

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How Nudge Security can help

Today, we are excited to introduce Nudge Security’s new app directory, a feature that allows security and IT teams to share a comprehensive inventory of approved applications, making it easy for employees to select tools that meet all necessary security and compliance standards. Employees can peruse the list by category and submit access requests directly to each application’s technical owner, whether or not that person sits within central IT. 

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For Marcus Södervall, Head of Security at Stravito, Nudge Security’s app directory cuts out unnecessary steps and empowers users to make more secure choices on their own. As Marcus explains, “While we do have an access request process, the team that handles requests doesn't always have admin access to the SaaS app itself, so they often end up forwarding requests to the right technical contacts. Nudge Security cuts out the middleman, so to speak, by connecting employees directly to the right SaaS admin, while still maintaining oversight of the entire access management process. This saves us valuable time and resources."

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With the addition of the app directory, Nudge Security customers can:

• Reduce SaaS sprawl: Encourage employees to adopt pre-approved applications rather than seeking out unsanctioned alternatives.
• Streamline access management: Automate the access management process by delivering requests directly to the technical contacts who can grant those requests. 
• Simplify onboarding: Provide employees with a ready-to-use catalog of approved applications. 

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"The app directory simplifies our access management process in a way that's just amazing. It provides an easy overview for our employees, shows them what applications are approved, and makes it easy for them to request access. This makes it simpler and more centralized,” Marcus says.

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Take a look at the interactive demo below, or read on for more details. 

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1. Select your organization’s approved SaaS applications.

Nudge Security discovers and inventories all the cloud and SaaS accounts your employees are using—and helps you determine and track whether or not they meet your corporate guidelines. 

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To accelerate your app investigations, Nudge Security provides an overview for each app with relevant security context. You can track your evaluations by assigning approval statuses of Approved, Acceptable, In Review, or Not Permitted, either by making changes to an individual app or by bulk editing multiple apps at once. 

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2. Empower employees to choose from a catalog of approved SaaS apps. 

Once you’ve enabled the app directory, employees can easily explore the inventory of approved SaaS applications. This eliminates the need for time-consuming research, or asking around, and ensures that employees choose applications that align with corporate guidelines.

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3. Simplify SaaS access requests.

With a simple click of a button, employees can request access to a specific pre-approved application. This action triggers an email or Slack message sent directly to the technical contact for the chosen application.

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4. Notify each app’s technical contact of new access requests automatically.

When an employee requests access to an application, that app’s technical contact will receive an email or Slack message prompting them to review the employee’s request, with the option to respond directly from that message. This streamlined process not only reduces the burden on IT teams, but also ensures a swift response to employee requests.

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Get started quickly and easily. 

Nudge Security automatically discovers every SaaS and cloud account across your entire organization, so all you need to do to inventory your organization’s SaaS apps is start your own free, 14-day trial and enable the app directory for your organization. Just navigate to Settings > Organization Settings, choose which apps to include, and then use the toggle to enable your directory. You’ll be able to preview your app directory right away. 

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Next, invite your employees to Nudge Security from the Manage Users tab. Any user from your organization who has a Nudge Security account with the Personal View user role will be able to access the app directory, as long as you’ve enabled it. And presto! Your users are ready to roll. 

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The importance of efficient SaaS governance

Our new app directory represents a significant step forward in streamlining the SaaS application approval process. By empowering employees to make informed choices within a curated selection of pre-approved applications, we're not only enhancing security, but also promoting a more efficient and user-friendly experience for everyone involved.

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Start your free, 14-day trial today.