How Imagine Learning Operationalized SaaS Change Management

How do you bring order to SaaS sprawl without killing innovation? Aaron Bass, IT Operations Analyst at Imagine Learning, shares how the Business Transformation team became “ruckus makers for good,” driving structure, clarity, and true SaaS change management in a fast-growing, post-M&A environment. In this episode, you’ll learn how to build a steering committee that actually works, why visibility and ownership matter more than control, and what it takes to make decentralized SaaS Management sustainable.

Chapters

• 00:00 Decentralized SaaS Ownership: A Double-Edged Sword
• 01:12 The Role of Business Transformation in SaaS Management
• 04:20 Ruckus Makers for Good: The Philosophy Behind Change
• 07:20 Integrating Organizational Change Management with SaaS
• 09:41 Establishing a Steering Committee for SaaS Oversight
• 12:28 Initial Focus and Priorities of the Steering Committee
• 13:39 C-Suite Involvement in SaaS Decision-Making
• 14:45 Key Data Points Driving Steering Committee Actions
• 17:07 Game Changers in Decentralized SaaS Management
• 17:38 Building a System of Truth for Effective Change Management

Episode Summary

When Aaron Bass took on SaaS Management at Imagine Learning, he stepped into a familiar challenge: decentralized ownership, limited visibility, and teams buying tools in silos. With hundreds of apps in use, the issue went beyond technology. It was decision making without coordination.

That’s where the Business Transformation (BT) team came in. Aaron’s group became the engine behind a new approach—one grounded in visibility, structure, and shared responsibility. Instead of chasing control, they focused on enabling smarter collaboration.

The transformation began with one core move: Zylo became the single source of truth. From there, they rolled out tailored dashboards to support finance, legal, IT, and department heads. These tools were conversation starters.

To support alignment, the team stood up a cross-functional steering committee. The group brought together senior leaders across the organization to guide strategic decisions. “We are making noise, but we’re doing it for a reason,” Aaron said. “And that reason is to do good—for the company, for the employees, for the customers.”

That steering committee became the linchpin. It ensured teams weren’t making redundant purchases or working at cross purposes. “If the steering committee signs off on it, then everyone knows as an organization, we’ve decided to do this,” Aaron explained.

Equally important was how Imagine Learning embedded change management into every step of the process. From surfacing duplicate tools to coordinating renewal calendars, the team made sure data led to decisions—and decisions led to action.

In the end, this story is about creating a system where decentralized ownership works, guided by shared priorities, real-time visibility, and cross-functional trust.

Guest Spotlight

• Name: Aaron Bass
• What he does: IT Operations Analyst, Imagine Learning
• Connect with Aaron: LinkedIn

Episode Highlights

Decentralized SaaS Needs Visibility, Not Control

At Imagine Learning, decentralized SaaS ownership wasn’t the problem—lack of visibility was. The BT team helped organizations see what others were using, where redundancies lived, and how decisions impacted shared budgets.

“Right now, we’re going into budget season, so that’s the focus—trying to get people to look at their technology stacks, see where they stand, what their future plans are. Giving better visibility, and for them to see what other teams are doing as well. Just so we can have that broader scale… not have those silos so that they can collaborate and work together. Try to be efficient with people’s time, with the dollars and cents, with everything.”

The Steering Committee Is the Strategy

Imagine Learning’s SaaS steering committee is a strategic lever. It aligns decisions across IT, finance, security, legal, and the C-suite. Without it, Aaron says, divisions could move in opposite directions without knowing it.

“Individual teams or divisions of the company can make decisions. But without the steering committee, there isn’t the oversight necessary—like, do we have conflicts between divisions? Two of them trying to go in opposite directions? Running two tools side by side that are essentially the same? The steering committee helps steer us… And if the committee signs off on it, everyone knows, as an organization, we’ve decided to do this. It’s not just one team trying to impose their idea.”

Rollout Fails Without Change Management

Rolling out SaaS Management tools too early can lead to confusion. Aaron made sure the data was cleaned, dashboards personalized, and the right people looped in before pushing anything live. This upfront work made Zylo useful, rather than overwhelming.

“If we would have shared it out of the gate, I think there would have been a lot more questions. Not resistance—just questions. Because things weren’t built out yet. Not catered to the individual teams. So if we had just shared it with budget owners, without a focused lens, they would’ve said, ‘Why are you showing me this?’ But now, every app is labeled. Owners are assigned. Dashboards are built for each team. And in some cases, people have said, ‘I didn’t even know we were paying for this.’”

Top Quotes

• [01:48] “Giving better visibility to see what other teams are doing removes silos so they can collaborate and work together.”
• [03:30] “We are making noise, but we’re doing it for a reason—to do good for the company, the employees, and our customers.”
• [14:15] “If the steering committee signs off, everyone knows we’ve decided as an organization to do this.”
• [19:55] “There are so many data points—you have to know who your audience is and decide what to show and when.”
• [22:45] “If we shared [our system of record] out of the gate, I think there would have been a lot more questions.”

If you manage SaaS in a decentralized environment, Aaron’s story shows how to turn scattered ownership into shared accountability. It’s a playbook for making SaaS change management part of your strategy.

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