Illustrative case study | IT SaaS

A cost-saving product still needs a reason to be bought this quarter

How DemandAxis would build the commercial route to market for a UK SaaS management platform selling to mid-market IT and finance teams.

Illustrative scenario. The organisation is hypothetical and no client results are claimed. Market and regulatory facts are sourced at the end.

Client

UK SaaS company after its seed round, with paying early customers

Product

Finds SaaS in use, shows licence utilisation and removes leavers' access

Target buyer

UK organisations with 250 to 2,500 employees on Microsoft 365

Starting point

IT likes it. Deals stall at finance or slip to next year.

The challenge

Deals stall at finance approval

of SaaS licences used by the average organisation, according to Zylo¹

Where deals stall today

ChampionThe IT leader backs the product

BudgetFinance sees one more subscription, framed as a saving

StallIt competes with every other saving idea on finance's list

ResultDeferred to next year's budget

The 54% figure is published by Zylo, a SaaS management vendor. It shows the problem is credible and is never quoted as a prospect's saving.

Sourced fact

A vendor reports average licence utilisation of 54%¹
Microsoft 365 list prices rose at renewal from 1 July 2026³
Cyber Essentials requires cloud services in scope²

Scenario assumption

IT leaders back the product
Finance defers it against other priorities
Paying customers can describe the value in their own terms

Discovery must confirm

What permissions discovery needs, and whether read-only access is possible
Whether per-employee pricing fits buyers' procurement rules and approval limits
Whether partners gain or lose when licences are reduced

The commercial insight

The product becomes a prerequisite when it answers a question the business must answer anyway.

One purchase

IT

Feels the pain

Finance

Controls the budget

Security

Needs every cloud service in Cyber Essentials scope²

An organisation cannot put in scope, or secure, what it cannot see.

Reasons to act now

Two dated triggers and the buyer's own calendar

Each is used to decide when to engage. None is used to manufacture urgency.

From April 2026

Cyber Essentials v3.3 (Danzell)²

Applies to new assessments. Cloud services cannot be excluded from scope, and missing MFA where available is an automatic failure.

Position discovery as certification readiness, which brings the security owner into the deal

From 1 July 2026

Microsoft 365 commercial pricing³

Applies at each customer's next renewal. At US list price, per user per month:

E3: $36 to $39Business Standard: $12.50 to $14

Local market adjustments apply.

Time outreach to renewal windows with licence evidence before signing

Buyer calendar

Financial year planning, audit cycles, restructures and acquisitions.

Treat timing as a discovery question where public information cannot confirm it

The business case finance will accept

Cash savingSpend genuinely removed or avoided: unused or over-specified licences at the renewal price.

Operational valueIT time released from manual offboarding, with the hours and rate stated as assumptions.

Conditional impactCertification or audit consequences, included only where the buyer confirms the link.

Each type of value is shown separately and never added together as a cash saving. Every input comes from the prospect's own data, with each assumption labelled.

The decision

Who should the first conversation be built around?

Not recommended

A finance-led savings pitch

As an opening, it becomes one more saving claim on finance's list.

Recommended

The IT champion, with a time-boxed discovery

Findings built from the buyer's own data, presented to finance by IT. Subject to the product's actual access requirements and the buyer's security review.

Test first

A reseller-led route

Licence reduction can cut a reseller's revenue. Test the partner economics before relying on it.

Why

Discovery turns a projected saving into the buyer's own evidence, and gives the IT lead something to take to finance that they did not have to argue for alone.

What would change the recommendation

Security teams will not approve the access discovery needs
Discovery reports are not converting, even with finance engaged
A partner test shows partners gain from the work, for example through services

Proposed approach

Six steps to a commercial route finance can approve

Build the finance case

A value model from the prospect's own data, with value types kept separate.

OutputValue model and business case

Sell the discovery first

Time-boxed, read-only where the product and buyer allow. The prospect keeps the report.

OutputDiscovery offer and terms

Follow the calendar

Target renewal windows, certification and planning cycles.

OutputTrigger-based account list

Protect the champion

Findings show inherited sprawl the IT lead brought under control.

OutputChampion briefing

Design the partner route

Licence reduction can cut a reseller's revenue, so test the economics first.

OutputPartner proposition and test

Test the pricing

Check whether a pricing model suits customer economics, procurement rules and approval limits.

OutputPricing hypotheses to validate

Decision criteria

When IT backs it and finance does not act

Finance engaged before a proposalData access and security sign-offProcessing termsConversion terms

ProceedFinance engaged. The report goes to finance and converts on agreed terms.

StrengthenRebuild the case with cash and operational value separated, or bring in the security owner.

Rescope or retimeA smaller first scope, or timing moved to the next renewal or budget cycle.

RemoveNo budget owner engages after the case is rebuilt. Take it out of near-term pipeline.

If reports are not converting across several accounts, redesign the offer before adding activity.

Who decides

The buying committee

IT feels the pain, finance controls the budget, and security, HR and procurement each hold part of the decision.

IT director or head of IT

Needs to believeLess manual administration, fewer surprises and credit for bringing spend under control.

Evidence that moves themDiscovery findings, admin time saved and the offboarding workflow.

Select a person on the map.

Stakeholder	Needs to believe	Evidence that moves them
Finance director	The cash saving is measurable within the current budget year, with no hidden implementation cost.	A value model built from their own data, a renewal comparison and the payback period on cash savings alone.
Security or compliance lead	There is a complete cloud inventory and MFA evidence for Cyber Essentials and audit.	Inventory report, MFA coverage and an audit trail of access removal.
IT director or head of IT	Less manual administration, fewer surprises and credit for bringing spend under control.	Discovery findings, admin time saved and the offboarding workflow.
HR or people director	Leavers lose access promptly without IT chasing tickets.	A leaver process map and the HR system integration.
Procurement	Terms, data processing and exit are clear.	Contract, data processing agreement and security documentation.

What we would measure

Discovery-to-paid conversion

Opportunities with the finance director engaged before a proposal

Sales cycle length by trigger type

Partner-sourced against direct opportunities

A monthly review compares what buyers say with what the model assumed, and shifts targeting towards the triggers that produce faster decisions.

Illustrative deliverables

ICP and trigger mapValue model and finance business caseDiscovery offer and conversion termsAccount list with source notesPersona messaging and outreach sequencesPartner proposition and economics testPricing hypotheses and monthly evidence review

Every engagement is led by the founder of DemandAxis, who would own commercial strategy, positioning, outreach, partner design and qualification. The client keeps responsibility for product capability, pricing decisions, data handling, security, implementation and delivery. No saving, pipeline value or revenue outcome is promised.