Only a quarter of Belgian companies have full insight into their software usage and licensing costs. More than half believe that they could save at least ten percent with better insight.

A study by Insight Enterprises shows that Belgian companies have a major lack of insight into their software usage. Only a quarter of companies have complete insight into their licensing costs. Most other companies only have knowledge at department or team level and six percent of companies have no insight at all.

Lack of overview

More than half of companies believe they could save at least 10 percent on their software licensing costs if they had a better understanding of what they were spending their money on. The study also highlights companies’ reluctance to invest in software tools to monitor their applications. Although SAM (Software Asset Management) tools are available, 84 percent of companies say they have little or no visibility and control over their software applications.

Increasing complexity

The number of software applications within organizations has increased significantly over the past three years, with two-thirds of companies now using more applications than before, further increasing the complexity and cost of software licensing.

David Steppe, Head of Sales and Business at Insight Belgium, emphasizes that companies that use SAM tools are better able to save costs. He estimates that more than 30 percent of desktop and SaaS software spending is underused or wasted. With a SAM tool, companies can quickly identify duplicate spending, unused licenses and overlapping software.

Despite the benefits of SAM tools, 90 percent of organizations currently do not use any form of these tools. For organizations that are reluctant to implement and manage these tools themselves, a managed SAM service offers a solution. These services give organizations visibility into their software usage, better control over licensing costs, and simplified compliance requirements without having to worry about the technical aspects of implementation.

According to Howard Daws, Strategy and Solutions Lead for Technology Lifecycle Services at Insight, organizations that implement the right tool and combine it with effective data management and SAM expertise can achieve significant efficiency gains, freeing up resources for continuous innovation within the IT department.

The figures show that there is an urgent need for better software management in Belgian companies to control costs and remain flexible in a rapidly changing technological environment.