Calero, a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SaaS Management Platforms and a founding member of the Tokenomics Foundation, today announced new SaaS Management capabilities for managing AI consumption, cost and adoption across the enterprise.

SaaS management is changing as software moves beyond traditional seat-based models, with AI accelerating the shift toward consumption-based pricing, variable usage and new forms of adoption. AI can enter the enterprise through free tiers and individual signups, be embedded within applications a company already licenses, and be priced according to tokens, quotas and other consumption-based models that can fluctuate over time.

Because Calero already manages telecom, mobility, SaaS and market data on a single platform, organizations can apply their existing technology expense management framework to AI without adding a separate point solution.

“AI is entering the enterprise faster than any technology we have managed in 30 years, and it is arriving with a meter running,” said Eric Martorano, President & CRO of Calero. “Organizations are being asked to scale AI and account for it at the same time. Our customers should not have to choose between moving aggressively on AI and knowing what it costs them. Calero has spent three decades making technology spend visible, measurable and manageable, and AI is now part of that same system. That is how the enterprise will run AI at scale.”

From AI Visibility to AI Control within SaaS

Calero’s expanded SaaS Management capabilities are designed for this changing environment. By extending management beyond seat counts and periodic reviews, Calero helps organizations discover AI use, measure consumption and take action across the SaaS portfolio. New SaaS Management capabilities include:

  • Shadow AI Discovery

    Most IT teams learn about a new AI tool late, when the invoice comes or a security breach happens. Calero’s agentless discovery connects to systems already operating in the customer environment and continuously scans for new applications. AI and AI-enabled tools are classified by vendor, function and capability as they are identified, providing an up-to-date inventory of sanctioned and unsanctioned usage to support AI governance and policy enforcement.

  • Hybrid License Management

    Renewal and true-up decisions fail when half the entitlement picture is missing. Calero’s event-based subscription management supports traditional seat-based licensing alongside consumption-based entitlements, including pooled token usage and individual quotas. Seat, consumption and hybrid subscriptions are brought into a single view, helping organizations base renewal and negotiation decisions on actual entitlements and usage.

  • Adoption Tracking

    Spend on tools nobody opens is the most avoidable line in the budget. Calero combines licensed entitlements with detailed usage and consumption data to provide visibility into how AI tools are being used. Idle seats and underused consumption plans can be identified early, enabling teams to engage low-adoption users, reassign entitlements and ensure both licenses and consumption pools are being used effectively.

  • Anomaly Detection

    With variable pricing, the first sign of a problem is usually the invoice. Calero’s policy engine supports consumption-based events, enabling teams to set token thresholds, trigger alerts on consumption spikes and identify when monthly AI spending exceeds established budgets. This gives finance and IT teams visibility into potential cost increases before they appear on an invoice, allowing them to take action before costs compound.

  • AI Provider Integrations

    As AI tools spread across the organization, IT and finance lack a consolidated view of their AI cost surface. Pre-built integrations for Microsoft Copilot, Cursor and Anthropic Claude collect provider-specific consumption, entitlement and cost data in one place, enriching Calero’s discovery and usage insights. Connector coverage will continue to expand as vendor APIs become available.

AI and the Convergence of FinOps and Technology Expense Management

AI is accelerating a broader shift in software economics. Vendors are moving beyond predictable seat-based pricing toward dynamic consumption and hybrid models, creating new challenges for cost management approaches based on periodic reviews, fixed annual costs and seat counts. Existing governance frameworks remain relevant, but organizations need more continuous instrumentation and visibility to manage variable spend and support informed renewal negotiations.

This shift is also expanding FinOps beyond cloud infrastructure and into the broader technology estate. Software, telecom and AI increasingly include variable consumption models that are difficult to manage through annual budgeting alone, bringing previously separate disciplines together around technology spend management. Calero brings 30 years of experience in technology spend management to this convergence and is a Tokenomics Foundation founding member, in addition to its membership in the FinOps Foundation.

To see how Calero brings AI, SaaS, telecom and mobility spend into a single view, visit www.calero.com.

About Calero

Headquartered in Rochester, NY, Calero has spent three decades building the technology expense management category, and is trusted by more than 3,000 enterprise customers across 102 countries. Calero’s centralized platform spans telecom management, mobility management, SaaS management, and market data management, helping organizations reduce the time between insight and action to improve performance, reduce risk, and optimize technology investments.

Learn more at www.calero.com or follow Calero on LinkedIn.

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