7 Flexera Alternatives and Competitors In 2024

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Managing IT assets and software resources is significant, regardless of company size. Whether you're a startup, a small business, or a large enterprise, finding the right tools to streamline IT operations, optimize costs, and ensure compliance is critical.

While many solutions exist, selecting the best one can be daunting. One such option is Flexera, a reputed IT management software.

This article will discuss some notable features of Flexera and a few drawbacks. Then, we will also share the 7 best Flexra alternatives that can help you optimize your business’s SaaS landscape.

We will discuss each option's key features, advantages, and pricing, from CloudEagle’s comprehensive SaaS management and procurement capabilities to other solutions like LeanIx and ServiceNow.

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TL;DR

• Flexera is a widely-used IT and software asset management tool, but its complexity, scalability, and customer support issues can be a drawback for some users.
• CloudEagle offers an all-in-one SaaS management solution with features like application discovery, cost optimization, and vendor research, making it an easy-to-use alternative.
• LeanIx excels in automated software discovery, license compliance, and cost optimization with a strong integration ecosystem.
• ServiceNow provides robust IT asset management and automation capabilities, although its setup can be complex.
• Other notable alternatives include USU, BetterCloud, AssetSonar, and Cledara, each offering unique features for managing IT assets and software subscriptions.

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Flexera- Features and Drawbacks

As your business scales, managing complex IT environments becomes increasingly challenging. That's where Flexera comes in. Founded in 1988, this American company specializes in the software asset management and IT asset management niche.

Their comprehensive suite will prove highly beneficial if you have a more significant business with complex IT environments. Flexera's solutions will help you gain a clear and thorough understanding of your software assets.

This visibility helps you make data-driven decision-making. Therefore, you can optimize software usage, manage licenses effectively, and ultimately control IT costs.

Features

• Software Asset Management (SAM): Flexera can help you track software licenses, ensure compliance, and optimize software spend through usage tracking and license reclamation.
• IT Asset Management (ITAM): Flexera provides tools for lifecycle management and inventory tracking to enhance visibility and control over IT assets.
• Cloud Management Platform (CMP): Flexera offers cloud cost management, governance, and optimization capabilities to help you manage your cloud resources effectively.
• Software Vulnerability Management: Flexera aids in identifying and mitigating software vulnerabilities to improve security posture.
• Vendor Management: Flexera VRM can help you save money by identifying and reclaiming unused licenses and negotiating better vendor contracts. It can also help you improve compliance with vendor agreements by providing a central repository for all contract information.

These features are crucial in today's IT landscape, where you must manage software assets. However, Flexera also has a few drawbacks. Let’s take a look at the cons of Flexera.

• Complexity: Some users find the software's interface and features could be more complex, leading to a steep learning curve.
• Scalability: While Flexera is perfect for larger enterprises, it might need to be more adaptable for smaller organizations with evolving needs.
• Customer Support: Some users need help with Flexera's customer support.

As you can see, these drawbacks will make the Flexera experience hard, as many customers are already complaining specifically about the complexity and customer support.

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7 Best Flexera Alternatives & Competitors

Flexera provides a slightly expensive pricing structure, which might not be suitable for solopreneurs, startups, and small businesses. So, how about looking at some Flexera alternatives?

Yes, a couple of alternatives to Flexera can capture your attention. Each solution offers unique features to optimize your business's cloud management needs.

1. CloudEagle

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CloudEagle is an all-in-one SaaS management and procurement platform. It can help you discover, optimize, govern, and renew your business’s SaaS applications.

CloudEagle will provide you with 100% visibility over your SaaS stack. Apart from streamlining SaaS governance and procurement, CloudEagle will also ensure you spend less on your SaaS apps.

CloudEagle also provides SaaS buying services to businesses with a lean procurement teams. When you outsource procurement processes to our experts, we will do the heavy lifting so you can focus on core tasks.

Unlike Flexera, you don’t need to worry about a steep learning curve with CloudEagle. So, whether you want to use CloudEagle for vendor negotiation or SaaS management, you can do it effectively without any complications.

Key Features

Application Discovery

CloudEagle has 500+ integrations to provide a comprehensive view of your SaaS portfolio. From apps, spending, contracts, and licenses to vendors, CloudEagle can identify and organize all these assets in one location.

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You can eliminate your spreadsheets and use this platform as a one-stop shop for all your SaaS management needs. It can also identify both sanctioned and unsanctioned applications, enabling you to prevent shadow IT in its early stages.

Shadow IT Alerts

When someone from your business purchases an application without IT approval, it’s called shadow IT. Not only does it increase the number of duplicate apps but it also leads to a SaaS sprawl. You can prevent such situations with CloudEagle.

With CloudEagle, you will receive instant alerts when someone purchases an unauthorized application. Thus, you can interrogate the responsible person and ensure your business doesn’t face any security threats.

Contract Management

Our contract management feature allows you to save time and resources by providing access to all contracts from a single dashboard. You can view and manage all your vendor contracts in one place for secure storage and easy tracking. Our platform extracts metadata from contracts, letting you know which ones are on auto-renewal and the minimum spend commitments.

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We initiate contract renewal workflows up to 90 days in advance, assigning them to the appropriate stakeholders with automated processes.

Cost Optimization

Duplicate and unused apps can increase your SaaS spend and lead to a SaaS sprawl. When you use CloudEagle, you will get complete visibility on your SaaS apps. You can analyze the usage insights and eliminate the low-usage apps.

Detecting unused and redundant SaaS subscriptions will become easy with CloudEagle. This way, you can optimize SaaS costs effectively.

Assisted Buying

Do you want to save money on your SaaS deals? With CloudEagle’s assisted buying services, you can save time on research. Our skilled negotiators evaluate the market trends and have access to the latest benchmarks so that you get the best deal out of your SaaS vendors.

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Let’s take Nowports as an example. Previously, Norports lacked data points like app usage and contract renewal dates. Thus, they often missed SaaS deadlines.

When they chose CloudEagle, they began streamlining their SaaS procurement process. As a result, they saved 34% on spending through CloudEagle’s effective negotiation.

Renewal Workflows

You can create effective renewal workflows for certain SaaS contracts. This way, you don’t need to worry about last-minute surprises with SaaS contract renewals. Besides sending renewal reminders, these workflows will be initiated up to 90 days in advance.

As you will receive proper renewal reminders via email and Slack, you can prevent missed renewals. You will also have enough time to create a negotiation plan and renew contracts on time.

Automated Workflows

Thanks to CloudEagle's no-code procurement workflows, you can enhance transparency and reduce bottlenecks in the procurement process. Moreover, when someone raises a purchase request, relevant stakeholders will receive automatic notifications through Slack and email to them.

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You can monitor the progress in real-time, speeding up the procurement process. Automated workflows are also available for license reclamation, renewals, user provisioning, deprovisioning, etc.

Slack Integration

If you want to raise purchase requests directly from Slack, you can do it easily with CloudEagle’s Slackbot. CloudEagle’s Slack integration will prove highly beneficial for your business, as you can request, approve, and deny app access directly from Slack.

Additionally, you can create a private Slack channel dedicated to collaboration and manage the renewal process directly from Slack.

Vendor Research

Visiting websites like Capterra, TrustRadius, and G2 to read reviews may prove too time-consuming. But with CloudEagle, you can conduct detailed vendor research directly from the platform.

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You can compare features and prices and read reviews. You can also connect with your peers to collect details on vendor prices, reviews, and features.

Powered by AI and ML algorithms, you will also receive relevant vendor suggestions based on your business’s problems. CloudEagle’s vendor research module will enable you to save time and choose the right vendors at the right price without hassle.

User Provisioning and Deprovisioning

You can easily provision and deprovision users with a single click. When a new employee joins your business, you don’t have to keep them waiting. Thanks to auto-provisioning workflows, you can grant them applications as per their designation and role.

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On the other hand, when someone leaves your business, you can automatically deprovision them from your SaaS ecosystem. This way, you can prevent unauthorized access.

Integration Library

CloudEagle will let you leverage the best benefits of 500+ integrations. These include Adobe Acrobat, Bamboo HR, Asana, AWS, 15 Hive, Caldendy, and many more. On top of that, you don’t need to pay any additional cost to utilize the integrations.

After integrating into finance, SSO, and HRIS applications, you will receive accurate data and insights on all your SaaS applications. You can learn about duplicate licenses, usage, and more from a single dashboard.

Pros

• CloudEagle offers a wide-ranging catalog of SaaS applications
• The platform offers pre-negotiated vendor discounts, ensuring cost savings from the start.
• CloudEagle will help you stay on top of renewals
• You will know every detail about your business’s SaaS license usage
• It can help you save costs by eliminating duplicate apps

Pricing

CloudEagle provides three transparent pricing plans. Depending on your unique needs, you can also customize them by employee bucket size.

• Starter: $2000/month
• Growth: $3000/month
• Enterprise: $4000/month

2. LeanIx

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Next in our Flexera competitors is LeanIX. It is a software company that specializes in providing SaaS management services. It also offers excellent IT asset management and software license management solutions. Thanks to its ease of use and integration, it can prove perfect for your business.

Key Features

1. Automated Discovery and Inventory: LinIx automatically discovers and inventories all software assets within your business’s network. This way, it provides a complete and up-to-date view of your IT landscape.
2. License Compliance Management: LeanIx can track software licenses and usage to help your business maintain compliance. Thus, you don’t need to worry about legal issues.
3. Cost Optimization: You will get detailed insights into software usage patterns. You can optimize your software spend by identifying underused or unused licenses.
4. Integration Capabilities: LinIx integrates seamlessly with various IT systems and tools. This includes ITSM and ERP solutions.

Pros

• Comprehensive asset discovery and inventory capabilities.
• Strong focus on license compliance and cost optimization.
• Seamless integration with other IT systems.

Cons

• Too much customization for complex IT environments.
• Initial setup can be time-consuming.

Pricing

LeanIx charges are based on the number of applications you use. Schedule a demo with their support team to learn more.

3. ServiceNow

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ServiceNow is another excellent alternative to Flexera. It offers IT service management (ITSM) and IT asset management (ITAM) solutions. It’s designed to streamline and automate your IT operations, which will help you manage software licenses and assets efficiently.

Key Features

1. IT Asset Management: ServiceNow provides robust tools for managing your IT assets, from acquisition to disposal. It will ensure full visibility and control over your software assets.
2. Software Asset Management: With ServiceNow's SAM capabilities, you can easily track software usage and optimize license utilization.
3. Configuration Management Database: The integrated CMDB allows you to maintain an accurate record of your IT environment. It will help you understand the relationships between different assets and services.
4. Automation and Workflows: ServiceNow enables you to automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows. It will prove efficiency and reduce the risk of errors.

Pros

• Extensive automation capabilities reduce manual workload.
• Great integration options facilitate a unified IT management experience.
• Highly customizable to fit unique organizational needs.

Cons

• Can be complex to set up and configure initially.
• Customization and advanced features require additional resources.

Pricing

Talk to the sales expert to know their customizable pricing plans.

4. USU

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You don’t need to worry about IT and enterprise service management with USU. In addition, USU provides software asset management. The powerful features to help you optimize your IT assets and ensure compliance across your organization.

Key Features

1. Software Asset Management (SAM): USU's SAM capabilities enable you to monitor and manage software licenses.
2. License Optimization: USU helps you identify underused or unused licenses. You can optimize your software spend and reallocate resources more efficiently.
3. Contract and Vendor Management: This Flexera competitor will enable you to manage contracts and vendor relationships. You can meet all contractual obligations and maintain good vendor relationships.
4. Analytics and Reporting: The platform offers robust analytics and reporting features. You can gain deep insights into your IT asset usage to make data-driven decisions.

Pros

• Effective license optimization tools to reduce software costs.
• You can effortlessly maintain compliance.
• Comprehensive ITAM capabilities for complete asset management.

Cons

• Requires training for users to fully utilize its capabilities.
• Complicated initial setup

Pricing

Get in touch with the sales team to get a customized quote.

5. BetterCloud

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BetterCloud is a leading SaaS Operations Management (SOM) platform that gives you control over your cloud applications and is one of the most sought-after Flexera alternatives. It provides a clear view of how your organization uses SaaS and helps you maintain security across different cloud platforms.

Key Features

• See and Manage Your SaaS: Automatically finds and lists all SaaS apps your company uses, giving you a central hub to see everything.
• Smooth User Transitions: This Flexera competitor makes adding and removing users from various SaaS apps easy, ensuring the right people have access and keeping things secure.
• Stay Safe and Compliant: Helps you set security rules, spot unusual activity, and address any threats across SaaS apps. This protects your data and ensures you're following the rules.
• Automate the Routine: This takes care of repetitive tasks like setting up new users, backing up data, and applying security rules. It frees up your IT team and makes things more efficient.

Pros

• Works with many popular SaaS applications for easy SaaS ecosystem management.
• Automate repetitive tasks like user provisioning, data backups, and security checks.
• Streamline the process of adding and removing users from various SaaS apps.

Cons

• The pricing structure is non-transparent.
• There are customization limitations for very specific needs.

Pricing

BetterCloud provides three different pricing plans. Request a demo and they will provide you with a customized quote.

6. AssetSonar

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AssetSonar is a user-friendly and efficient alternative to Flexera. One of the best aspects of this Flexera competitor is its excellent ITAM and SAM solutions. It is designed to help you streamline asset tracking, improve compliance, and optimize your IT asset usage.

Key Features

• IT Asset Management: AssetSonar allows you to track and manage all your IT assets, providing real-time visibility into asset status, location, and usage.
• Automated Alerts and Notifications: AssetSonar provides automated alerts and notifications for maintenance, warranty expirations, and license renewals.
• Integration: AssetSonar integrates with various third-party tools and systems, including helpdesk and procurement systems, for seamless asset management.
• Audit Trails: The tool maintains detailed audit trails, ensuring you have a complete history of asset transactions and changes.

Pros

• Automatically discover and catalog IT assets on your network.
• Seamlessly integrate with popular service desk platforms.
• Access and manage your IT assets from the AssetSonar mobile app.

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• The reporting features are complicated

Pricing

AssetSonar has one customizable pricing plan. The basic one starts at $44.99/month, but the price depends on the number of users, admins, and registered software license seats.

7. Cledara

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Lastly, Cledara is a SaaS management platform designed to help organizations take control of their software subscriptions. It provides a centralized dashboard for managing all your SaaS subscriptions, tracking usage and spending, and optimizing your SaaS stack.

Key Features

• Subscription Management: This Flexera comepetitor allows you to manage all your software subscriptions in one place. You will know subscription details, renewal dates, and costs.
• Expense Tracking: The platform helps you track expenses related to software subscriptions. You will get insights into your software spending and budget management.
• Automated Workflows: Cledara automates workflows for subscription approvals, renewals, and cancellations, reducing manual tasks and improving efficiency.
• Compliance and Security: The tool helps you maintain compliance by tracking user access and permissions. This way, you can ensure that only authorized personnel have access to critical applications.

Pros

• Get a clear picture of your SaaS spending and usage in one place.
• Identify and eliminate unused or underutilized subscriptions.
• Secure your SaaS payments with virtual cards

Cons

• Doesn’t offer as many features as some other SaaS management platforms.
• You need to invest a significant amount of time to understand the platform.

Pricing

Cledera provides three pricing plans:

• Basic: Free
• Premium: $200/month

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Conclusion

While Flexera is a popular IT and cloud management solution, it has a few limitations. Its analytics could be more effective, especially with Google. Moreover, its user-friendliness and customer support need improvement.  

CloudEagle is an all-in-one SaaS management and procurement platform and it is a great Flexera alternative. It can help your IT and procurement teams with application discovery, contract management, cost optimization, vendor research, assisted buying, and more.

Apart from CloudEagle, we have also discussed 6 other Flexera competitors. So, determine your business’s requirements and choose the perfect SaaS management platform.

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