📊 Let's break down what the data reveals

Operations, IT, and Engineering departments lead the pack, each managing 80-85 different SaaS applications - a staggering 70% increase from 2021.

Even traditionally lighter tech users like Marketing now juggle 60+ apps, up from 40 in 2021.

💎 This proliferation creates three critical challenges for enterprises and software vendors:

Procurement Complexity:

Enterprise sales cycles become increasingly burdensome as companies manage more vendors, contracts, and renewal dates.

Budget Fragmentation:

With departments running dozens of subscriptions, software budgets are scattered across multiple cost centers and purchasing channels.

Integration Overhead:

IT teams struggle to secure, manage, and integrate an ever-expanding portfolio of applications.

🛒 Here's the reality check:

Imagine selling another tool to a department already managing 80+ apps. Not only do they barely track what they have, but their management now scrutinizes every new line item.

🎯 This explains the unprecedented growth of cloud marketplaces.

Their advantages for procurement and security teams are compelling:

• Consolidated procurement and billing

• Simplified vendor management

• Leverage of existing cloud commits

• Native integration with cloud infrastructure

• Enhanced security and compliance

Recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) data confirms this shift: 55% of enterprise buyers now spend over 10% of their IT budgets through marketplaces, with two-thirds planning to increase this channel.

⚡ For software vendors who sell to enterprises, the winners in 2025 won't just be those who list on marketplaces - they'll be the ones who transform their entire GTM strategy around this new purchasing reality.

What's your approach to navigating this fundamental shift in enterprise software consumption?

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