Overview

Effective management of SaaS subscription renewals is crucial for IT and procurement managers aiming to maximize cost savings. A critical aspect of this process is accurately forecasting the number of licenses needed for the next contract term. Our Renewal Forecast tool is designed to streamline the license rightsizing process, ensuring you're well-prepared for vendor negotiations and can optimize both efficiency and savings at renewal time.

Available for customers on the Enterprise plan

Benefits

• Customizable: Adjust license data to fit what's in your contract, set your preferred renewal buffer according to your hiring plan, and exclude free licenses if wish.
• Universal App Support: integrated or not, as long as license data is available, you can generate the forecast.  Torii will check your data completeness and recommend whether it is rich enough to make a rightsizing decision or it's better you enrich the data by importing an up-to-date user file.
• Guided process: Follow the step by step flow to get you to the most accurate forecast possible.
• Shareable - Renewal is a team effort.  Once the forecast is ready you can easily share it with other stakeholders to ensure everyone is aligned.

How it works

General

The renewal forecast is a step by step flow that is analyzing the licenses you've purchased vs. what you actually use to then generate a forecast of the number of licenses you'd need and which ones can be reclaimed.

Prerequisites

1. Fresh contract data: Ensure all your apps have active contracts. Explore different ways to add contract data into Torii.
2. Up-to-date users and licenses: Connecting integrations is recommended when available. Alternatively, import a user file with license data. Learn more about importing users.

When and where to start

We recommend to start preparing for the renewal 120 days in advance.  For all apps renewing in the next 120 days' you'll see in the Overview tab of each app, a renewal coming soon notice followed by a "Start renewal forecast" button.  Click it to access the Renewal Forecast wizard.

You can also access forecasts through renewal notification emails or the renewal calendar.

Wizard steps

Clicking "Start Renewal Forecast" launches a wizard that guides you through creating the renewal forecast report. The wizard consists of 3 steps:

• Step 1 - Review Users: Assess your user list for accuracy and completeness. A preliminary check will indicate if the data is sufficient, needs enrichment, or is incomplete.
• Step 2 - Review Licenses: Verify that each user-assigned license has both the Annual Cost and Total Licenses recorded. This step is crucial for estimating potential savings and identifying any unassigned licenses.
• Step 3 - Review Forecast: Conclude the process by reviewing the forecast, adjusting settings, and sharing the report. Examine cost changes, license recommendations, and receive a detailed analysis of the forecast.

Step 1 - Review users

Begin by checking your user list for correctness and completeness to form a solid foundation for your forecast. An initial check will indicate whether the data is sufficient, requires enrichment, or is incomplete.

In some cases, data may be marked as needing enrichment for the following reasons:

1. Limited license granularity: Licenses provided through an integration might display only one type. This often indicates that the app API lacks the detail needed to distinguish between different license types. In such cases, obtain a user report from the app's admin console, including granular license data such as differentiating between editor and viewer licenses, and import this data into Torii during the wizard process.
2. Outdated license data: If the current license data is outdated—whether imported manually or last synced over 30 days ago—it can compromise data completeness. Aim to have the most up-to-date data to ensure accuracy.
3. No last used date: Missing last-used date data for any user can lead to incomplete data issues. Ensure this data is available for all users to achieve a complete and accurate forecast.

If the license data appears accurate enough, you may still proceed despite these warnings. However, if the data completeness check indicates missing license data, you'll need to import a user file with license data to continue.

Step 2 - Review licenses

Make sure each user-assigned license has both the Annual Cost and Total Licenses recorded. This data is essential for estimating savings and identifying any unassigned licenses. To find these details, use the "Related Contracts" button to view all the contract PDFs tied to your non-closed contracts. Locate the order form with the purchased line item details, match these to their corresponding licenses, and enter the cost and total amount accordingly.

Step 3 - Review forecast

Complete your process by examining the license forecast, adjusting settings, and sharing the findings. You can see projected cost changes, license count recommendations, and detailed breakdowns.

Keep in mind that free licenses are excluded by default. If necessary, adjust the settings at the top to include them in your view. Additionally, you can modify the renewal buffer, which allows you to set a percentage that accounts for forecasted growth. This means the recommended license count will include not only currently active licenses but also anticipated expansion.

To view all users with a specific license, along with their utilization status and suggested adjustments, expand the detailed breakdown section.

Export and share

For further analysis or sharing, click the "Download to CSV" button. In addition you can share a link to the forecast with stakeholders who have the necessary Torii access.

Best practices

Integrate the license forecast into your organization's renewal workflow to streamline the process. Add a link to the app overview tab (using the [Trigger.Contract.App.Link-to-Torii-overview-page] variable) in your workflow-based renewal notifications, prompting the app owner to generate a renewal forecast. Once the forecast is complete, the app owner can share the link in the Renewals Slack/Teams channel, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to review and collaborate effectively.

FAQs

Q: How is Renewal Forecast different from the license analysis in the Licenses page?

A: The Renewal Forecast offers more control over licenses considered, allows data enrichment for all apps, and provides a full utilization breakdown for each license type.

Q: Can I do a renewal forecast with users from multiple accounts?

A: Not at the moment.  The renewal forecast is generated per account and is currently not supported if your users are coming from multiple accounts.

Q: Are changes made in the wizard saved?

A: Yes, any adjustments are saved in Torii as if made from the licenses page or app users tab.