How Banked reduced SaaS spend by 25% and stays audit-ready with Setyl

Banked powers real-time payments for consumers, businesses and banks. The fintech company was founded in London, and has since expanded to 15 other countries, including Australia and the US.

We spoke to Banked’s IT Engineer, Jamal Issouquaein, to understand what challenges triggered his search for an IT management solution, and how Setyl helps him streamline his processes, ensure compliance, and slash spend.

“Using Setyl for SaaS management has been transformational. […] Within two months of setting up the data in Setyl, we were able to reduce our SaaS spend by over 25%.”

Jamal Issouquaein

IT Engineer at Banked

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Before Setyl

Before Jamal joined the company, Banked managed its IT asset inventory through various team members using spreadsheets and an MSP partner. Meanwhile, there was no structured process in place for the management of SaaS subscriptions.

However, Jamal quickly identified the need for a more formal asset management system to meet security requirements:

“Most of our partners are Tier 1 banks. This requires us to regularly undergo extensive policy procedure reviews and security audits. One of the key focuses of these audits is information security, a significant aspect of which is asset management.”

At the same time, the company was transitioning from owned devices to a leasing model through a provider. They therefore also needed a system to manage the leased equipment, as well as to map all existing owned devices and their disposal, to fully transition into the leasing model.

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The solution

After evaluating several IT asset management solutions, Jamal opted for Setyl in May 2023.

“There are three main reasons why I chose Setyl. Firstly, the interface is so much more modern and flexible than many other solutions.

“Secondly, the responsiveness of the team and their openness to feedback for the roadmap stood out. With some vendors, you even have to chase their sales team, which makes you wonder what to expect later on if something goes wrong. On the other hand, working with the team at Setyl was a really positive experience.

“Lastly, the integrations were a significant factor. To create a source of truth, I needed a system that would natively integrate with our Jamf MDM, which Setyl provided out of the box. We’ve since also connected Setyl to our Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Intune and Autopilot tools, and Personio HR package.”

After initially using Setyl for hardware asset management, Jamal and his Finance team also started using Setyl’s software subscription and license management functionality:

“Previously, we didn’t have a complete picture of our subscriptions, often chasing details like renewal dates. We now have a full understanding of our SaaS stack, which helps us reduce SaaS spend — an ongoing priority for our organization as we continue to grow.”

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The results

Over 25% reduction in SaaS spend

“Using Setyl for SaaS management has been transformational. It helps us build a complete picture of our SaaS spend and license renewals. We can now proactively discuss with the team which subscriptions are actually needed, get an overview of underutilized licenses, and make changes to drive significant savings.

“Within two months of setting up the data in Setyl, we were able to reduce our SaaS spend by over 25%. The renewal timeline, in particular, is the killer feature for SaaS management. It helps me plan for upcoming renewals, and have open discussions with stakeholders and vendors at the right time.”

More effective IT asset management

“Setyl’s impact on our asset management has been extremely positive. It simplifies processes during employee onboarding and offboarding, when assets are transferred to other locations, and more. And once all the information is set up in the platform, it’s largely hands-off.

“It’s been fantastic to gain this visibility over all our IT assets, SaaS applications and people in one place. I now have peace of mind knowing that the information is readily available whenever needed, including for compliance and audit purposes.”

Always audit-ready

“As part of our banking partners’ audits and Cyber Essentials certification, we need to provide detailed lists of devices and operating systems, who they’re assigned to, in which territories they exist, etc. With Setyl, it's quick and easy to generate and submit these reports at any time.”

Excellent user experience

“The interface is easy to use, modern, and responsive. There are many tools out there that you just dread having to deal with. Setyl is not one of them by a long margin. When other vendors have asked for UX feedback, I’ve even pointed to some of Setyl’s pages as excellent examples of UX design.”