Mixpanel — Vendr Case Study

Introduction

Mixpanel is a leading provider of B2B analytics solutions. They help companies increase their rate of innovation by providing actionable insights through data. The platform equips companies with data and insights into how their users use their products to help developers improve their product offerings through innovation. The company has offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

The Challenge

Stakeholders and IT leaders often drive the software purchasing process in fast-growing companies that haven’t yet established formal procurement. It’s a fast way to ensure users get the tools they need. Still, it presents two significant challenges: lack of negotiation and loss of productivity.

This was the problem facing Peter Pernot-Day, Director of Legal & Chief Privacy Officer at Mixpanel.

Peter explained, “Most of our software was purchased directly through our IT teams. They were quickly overwhelmed doing IT maintenance, IT service, building and maintaining critical infrastructure, plus moonlighting as SaaS purchasing agents. It just wasn't an effective process.”

Asking stakeholders to drive the software purchase process presented other challenges as well. “We have very talented engineers, salespeople, and others that want to get the best software,” Peter explained. “But it leads to overlaps, duplicate purchases, and issues where we don't fully understand the tech stack. It's so easy to add on SaaS services without really going through a formal vetting process because it's not on-premises.” This also made legal reviews challenging, as requests and renewals would often come in last minute, even after a signed contract was in place.

The Solution

To address these challenges, Peter turned to Vendr. With Vendr's help, Peter was able to give valuable contributors like engineers, salespeople, and others the time they needed to focus on their primary responsibilities. Additionally, Vendr helped ensure a streamlined and compliant tech stack, reducing overlaps and duplicate purchases. Furthermore, Vendr helped Peter save money when purchasing and renewing SaaS products through effective negotiation and a more formal vetting process. Overall, Vendr's assistance enabled Mixpanel to purchase and manage software more efficiently and effectively.

The Result

Vendr helped Mixpanel save money and streamline processes by addressing the challenges faced by IT leaders and stakeholders in the software purchasing process. With Vendr's help, Mixpanel was able to effectively negotiate and purchase the tools they needed while improving productivity and reducing overlaps and duplicate purchases. Additionally, Vendr's assistance made legal reviews easier by allowing for a more formal vetting process.