How Talkdesk Streamlines SaaS Negotiations for Better Outcomes with Zylo

Challenge 1

Gain Visibility into All SaaS Spending — Regardless of Source 

Talkdesk was founded 10 years ago in Portugal. Today, it’s grown into a global company focused on empowering businesses to deliver better customer experiences through its innovative cloud contact center solution.

As the company has grown, so too has its SaaS portfolio. But oftentimes, SaaS purchases were made by teams and individuals throughout the company — without the involvement of the procurement and IT teams.

As a result of this decentralized approach, Talkdesk’s IT and procurement teams didn’t have visibility into the company’s entire SaaS portfolio. This left them with little insight into what SaaS applications had been purchased, how much they cost, and who made each purchase — which presented a whole host of challenges for the teams. 

“Not knowing what tools we had was a big problem I needed to solve for,” said Gordon Atkin, Vice President, Global Systems & Technology at Talkdesk. “I saw what Zylo could do for my previous company, and I knew the company could help us overcome similar challenges at Talkdesk.”

Talkdesk partnered with Zylo and within just a few short months the procurement and IT teams already started to gain better visibility into total SaaS spending. This has been foundational to improved collaboration and more effective SaaS management.  

“SaaS spending was taking place via different avenues. Having visibility into all of our spending is important, and bringing all of these purchases into one central location is key,” said Atkin. 

Challenge 2

Effectively Manage a Growing Volume of SaaS Negotiations with a Lean Procurement Team

Initially, Zylo was brought in to help Talkdesk more effectively manage SaaS. However, Lauren Pukacz, Senior Global Director of Procurement at Talkdesk also saw an opportunity to get help negotiating the growing number of SaaS contracts her team manages. 

Prior to Pukacz joining the company, Talkdesk didn’t have a procurement team or established processes. Instead, SaaS purchase and renewal negotiations were typically led by business owners — and there was no central location where contract information was stored. 

Today, Talkdesk’s mighty procurement team of two handles all SaaS contracts for the company. However, as the volume of SaaS contracts grows, this has gotten more challenging. 

Pukacz knew the team needed help, so they started leveraging Zylo’s SaaS Negotiator Service. Today, Talkdesk has a dedicated SaaS Service Manager who acts as an internal team member, closely collaborating with IT, Procurement, and external vendors to negotiate the company’s SaaS contracts. And has quickly become a key asset to the team. 

“Our services manager has become an extension of our procurement team and has helped us save a lot of money,” said Pukacz “She accomplishes as much as a full-time employee — without us having to add additional headcount.”

Talkdesk’s SaaS Service Manager handles nearly all of the company’s SaaS contract negotiations, including renewals and discovery calls with new vendors. By leveraging Zylo’s database as well as best practices, the SaaS Service Manager is able to negotiate optimal costs and terms. 

Talkdesk’s investment in Zylo’s SaaS Negotiator Service has quickly paid off. Within the first six months, Talkdesk’s SaaS Service Manager completed 24 negotiations and five benchmarks, with 16 additional negotiations in progress. This has resulted in $347,000 in annual savings, for a total savings of $561,000.

“Through the short period of time we’ve been working together, we can see the ROI already,” said Pukacz. 

Zylo’s SaaS Negotiator Service sets Talkdesk up for long-term success, too. Every contract Zylo negotiates on Talkdesk’s behalf is added to their system of record and the information is used to populate a SaaS renewals calendar. This calendar will empower Talkdesk to have adequate time to prepare for future renewal discussions. 

“Some procurement offices might hesitate to use this software because they think it’s taking their jobs,” said Pukacz. “But that’s not the case. Instead, it’s helped us become a more strategic office — and it paid for itself by week three.” 

Challenge 3

Eliminating Redundant Applications

In the past, Talkdesk had a largely decentralized approach to procuring SaaS, which meant teams and individuals often purchased their own software. As a result, there was a lot of redundancy. Oftentimes, different teams would purchase different tools that served nearly the same function — without realizing it. 

“Multiple groups around the organization were using similar tools, but we didn’t have visibility into that,” said Pukacz. “With Zylo, we can capture all of our contracts and all of those tools so we can take a more strategic look at what tools we use from a global perspective.”

Zylo has also helped improve the collaboration between Talkdesk’s IT and procurement teams, a partnership that will be crucial as the company continues to work to more effectively manage SaaS growth. 

“Not a day goes by that Lauren and I don’t connect,” concluded Atkin. “And that’s how it should be.”