ServiceNow Acquires VendorHawk for Cloud, SaaS Cost Management Tools

ServiceNow is acquiring SaaS cost management specialist VendorHawk. The deal is expected to close this month. ServiceNow gains software asset management capabilities -- helping customers to more effectively track SaaS license utilization rates and associated costs.

As ServiceNow points out, the growing momentum of cloud software means SaaS subscriptions can quickly get out of hand for an organization, often bypassing the watchful eye of a company’s IT department.

SaaS Subscription Utilization Rates

VendorHawk can track more than 36,000 different SaaS applications -- even discovering and mapping redundant applications, the company says. It can also analyze usage and optimize SaaS subscriptions for top applications like Salesforce, Box, and Google G-Suite. The company, founded 2015, is led by CEO Patrick Lowndes, who previously worked in various positions at PayScale.

VendorHawk’s expertise will be added to the ServiceNow Software Asset Management offering through the Now Platform, available as part of a 2019 release.

The acquisition news came at the same time as the company reported its first-quarter 2018 results. Overall quarterly subscription revenues were up 40 percent year-over-year, boosting revenue to $543.3 million. CFO Michael P. Scarpelli also described ServiceNow's cybersecurity strategy during yesterday's earnings call.

Cloud Cost Management Competition

Cloud cost management is a relatively small, highly fragmented market -- but anecdotal evidence suggests the sector is growing fast. Noteworthy activity in the sector includes;