Application Proliferation Weighs Down Enterprise Operations, Fuels Shadow IT Expansion
Torii's 2026 SaaS Benchmark Report indicates that enterprise application proliferation is undermining governance efforts, with the average large enterprise running 2,191 applications, over 61% of which are not IT-approved. AI intensifies IT sprawl, as employees use an average of 40 applications, with only 15% fully controlled, leading to waste and security risks. Torii executives call for governance models to shift toward continuous discovery.
Brief Overview
- Business application sprawl is undermining enterprise governance efforts, with the average large enterprise running2,191applications, according to Torii's 2026 SaaS Benchmark Report released Tuesday.
- The allure of AI is intensifying IT sprawl, with legacy systems and outdated governance models struggling to keep pace while posing rising security threats—over 61% of discovered applications lack formal IT approval or oversight.
- "AI didn't create shadow IT, but it has significantly accelerated its speed and impact," said Uri Haramati, co-founder and CEO of Torii, in a press release accompanying the report. "These tools are deeply connected, gain broad access instantly, and often persist even after teams stop using them."
Deep Insights
Despite concerns that AI is replacing traditional software, employees currently run far more applications than leaders realize, opening the door tonew governance risksand wasted spending.
AI experimentation hasn't consolidated tools; instead, it has expanded the number of applications employees bring into the workplace, with the average employee interacting with40 applicationsto get their work done.
Unlike traditional SaaS adoption, these tools largely operate without governance. The Torii report found that among discovered applications,only about 15% are fully approved.。
The report notes that this lack of visibility creates financial challenges. Idle or unused SaaS licenses represent hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars inannual wasted spendingat large organizations. At the same time, it creates security risks because governance models cannot keep up in this environment.
In this environment, governance models struggle to keep pace.
"AI is accelerating software adoption across the enterprise," Haramati said. "Employees are introducing tools at a pace far beyond what governance models were originally designed to handle."
For CIOs, these findings highlight a growing tension: how to allow employees to experiment with AI toolswhile maintaining controland limiting sprawl.
Torii's research suggests the answer lies in reshaping governance for a rapidly changing era, shifting the IT team's role from reactive to proactive in addressing data security.
"Software adoption no longer follows a centralized or predictable path," said Uri Nativ, co-founder and CPO of Torii, in the press release. "Organizations need governance models built for continuous discovery, not annual reviews."