Blog author
Co-Founder
Darren McMurtrie is co-founder and COO of Ensurva. He writes about the operational mess of scaling a company, specifically what breaks in operations and IT inside small to mid-sized businesses, and why vendor sprawl is usually a symptom of something bigger.
Before Ensurva, Darren co-founded Assembly Payments, now MX51 and Zai. The company scaled past $28B in transaction volume and raised over $100M in venture capital. As COO of Hapana, Darren grew headcount from 56 to 120+ staff across five countries and co-led a $17M funding round.
Both experiences showed the same pattern: vendor relationships multiplying faster than anyone could track them, with the operational cost showing up months or years later. Darren has sat in the seat where a team buys a tool without telling IT, where two departments pay separate vendors for the same job, and where a surprise renewal costs less in the invoice than in the scramble that follows it.
On the Ensurva blog, Darren writes for operations leaders mapping vendor ecosystems they didn't design, and for IT leaders who want to stop discovering vendor relationships by accident.
Writes about
Shadow SaaS spending hides in your bank feed and expense claims. Here's how to find it, quantify it, and stop it from growing.
Vendor consolidation reduces admin overhead and improves spend control for growing businesses. Here's how to do it without a dedicated procurement team.
Shadow SaaS spending hides in your bank feed and expense claims. Here's how to find it, quantify it, and stop it from growing.
Vendor consolidation reduces admin overhead and improves spend control for growing businesses. Here's how to do it without a dedicated procurement team.
When teams buy software without a process, the same problems appear in different forms. Here is a SaaS procurement process that works without a procurement team.
Most companies renew vendor contracts on inertia. Vendor performance management gives you the data to make better decisions at renewal time.
Most companies find out a SaaS subscription has renewed when the invoice arrives. Here is how SaaS renewal management stops that from happening.
Vendor due diligence checklist for SMBs: what to check before signing. Financial, security, legal, and operational criteria in one practical framework.
Third parties were involved in 30% of data breaches in 2024. Here's a five-step vendor offboarding checklist to close relationships cleanly and reduce security exposure.
What SaaS rationalization means, how to audit your software stack, cut what’s redundant, and keep your team productive through the transition.
Most small business vendor decisions happen informally. Here's a four-step selection framework that reduces the risk of signing the wrong contract.
A vendor onboarding process helps SMBs without a procurement team manage supplier risk, document commercial terms, and maintain spend visibility. This practical guide covers the steps, tiering, and what to record.
How SMBs choose a contractor management platform: what to track, what it costs, and how to manage contractor spend alongside your broader vendor stack.
How SMBs handle vendor contract management: tracking terms, managing renewals, and negotiating better outcomes with limited bandwidth.
Vendor spend management explained: what it means for SMBs, why it matters, and how to get started without a procurement team or enterprise software.
The best vendor management software for small businesses: what to look for, what to avoid, and how to compare tools built for SMBs vs scaled-down enterprise.
How to choose a SaaS spend management tool for your SMB: what features matter at 30 to 150 vendors, what enterprise tools get wrong, and what to try first.
Manage supplier risk without a procurement team: identify concentration risk, assess vendor health, and build controls that work.
Contract administration explained for SMBs: what it covers, how to do it without a legal team, and how good contract admin reduces vendor risk and overspend.
How SMBs approach software and asset management: consolidating your stack, tracking licences, and cutting costs without losing tools your team relies on.
A step-by-step guide to managing vendor renewals for SMBs: build a renewal calendar, set lead times, and enter negotiations from a position of strength.
How SMBs can negotiate better vendor contracts: timing leverage, common clauses to push back on, and how to prepare for renewals without a procurement team.
A practical SLA template and guide for SMBs: what to include in vendor service level agreements, common traps, and how to enforce terms without legal overhead.
How SMBs can manage vendor security risks without a dedicated security team: what to assess, what to contract for, and how to reduce third-party exposure.
How to evaluate a cloud services provider for your SMB: key criteria, hidden costs to watch, and how to avoid long-term vendor lock-in.
What Google Workspace actually costs your business: per-user pricing, tier differences, and how to benchmark your spend before your next renewal.
How to choose vendor risk management software for your SMB: what features matter, what's overkill, and how to assess supplier risk without a dedicated team.
The contract management lifecycle explained: from vendor onboarding to renewal. How SMBs can reduce risk and cut costs at every stage.
A practical guide to software licensing and management for SMBs: track what you own, remove unused seats, and stop overpaying on annual renewals.
What a vendor management system actually does for SMBs, what to look for, and how to pick one that fits your team without procurement experience.
Application portfolio management for SMBs: audit your software stack, cut unused tools, and reduce vendor sprawl without enterprise overhead.