SaaS adoption has been on the rise. Many organizations now prefer to use SaaS vendors to host their applications on the cloud, instead of investing in data centers. According to statistics by 99Firms, nearly 73% of all organizations would be using mostly SaaS solutions by 2021. However, SaaS is not without its risks.

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a cloud computing service that allows users to use cloud-native applications over the Internet. By using SaaS, you no longer need to install or maintain software as you can access it on the cloud via the Internet.

How can SaaS put your business at risk?

The biggest risk that SaaS poses for businesses is that the providers take on the security responsibilities. The provider is responsible for removing any security vulnerabilities from the application code.

Data protection and privacy is a priority for nearly all businesses. Hosting data while being under the service provider’s control is always a critical issue, which requires stringent security policies employed by cloud providers.

There is also performance risk involved with SaaS as it may not deliver the expected level of service. Downtimes can inflict huge losses on an organization.

There are economic risks too. If an organization wants to customize an application, they need to own it. Customization could lead to higher costs arising from additional or changing future requirements.

SaaS Cybersecurity

Before rolling out a new feature or vetting a new tool, organizations should consider how it impacts SaaS security.

The following best SaaS best practices can help ensure data privacy and security.

Encrypt your data

It is important to ensure that you encrypt your data at every level of the technology stack. In the event of a breach, proper encryption ensures that customer data is not leaked.

Identity and Access Management

Identity management refers to the act of confirming that each user is exactly the person he claims to be. Access management refers to granting only legitimate users the right to use an application or retrieve data. Easily implementable solutions that integrate SaaS with IAM can enhance security.

Security telemetry and monitoring

It may not be possible to prevent every instance that may compromise security. Hence, organizations want transparency that allows them to identify and assess merging security risks quickly.

Incident response

Any business could fall victim to a breach. Hence, it is important for security teams to implement tools and practices that help manage and resolve incidents. Security monitoring is crucial as greater transparency allows better incident response.