5 Strategies to Help Organizations Tackle Software Sprawl

Maximize your ROI on the technology you need.

“SaaS sprawl is a natural consequence of the SaaS revolution. An analysis of Okta’s 2020 customer database revealed that companies employing 2,000 or more individuals maintained an inventory of 175 SaaS apps on average” – TechCrunch

The infamous phenomenon that is software sprawl, occurs when the quantity of applications or software components in an environment experiences rapid growth and fluctuations, leading to a substantial rise in complexity and rendering traditional software management approaches ineffective.

In the fast-paced world of technology, businesses often find themselves grappling with the challenges of uncontrolled proliferation of software applications across an organization. Suffice to say that this seemingly innocuous issue can significantly impact Return on Investment (ROI) if left unaddressed.

In this blog, we explore how software sprawl negatively affects ROI and highlight 5 powerful strategies for optimizing software licensing through consolidation, expert guidance and licensing discounts.

The Hidden Costs of Software Sprawl

Walk Me’s 2022 - 2023 State of Digital Adoption Report showed that large enterprises are spending over $246 million pursuing strategic goals with digital transformation, IT and software spend being the majority portion.

Surveys from this same report showed that large enterprises spend an estimate of over $104 million on their digital transformation and software.

On average, businesses deploy 89 different applications, with enterprises having as many as 187. However, 30% of these apps are either duplicative or provide no evident value.

These findings conclude that many businesses are overspending by millions on software they don’t even need.

Furthermore, with the complexity and rapid growth of organizational software usage, hidden costs can arise for several reasons, such as:

Redundancy and Overlapping Functionality

Multiple software tools with overlapping features can lead to redundancy, increasing operational costs without providing proportional benefits.

Inefficient workflows

Workers toggle between different applications approximately 1,200 times a day, resulting in nearly four hours of wasted productivity weekly and increased frustration leading to higher turnover rates.

Licensing Expenses

Unmanaged software sprawl often results in unnecessary licensing expenses, as organizations may invest in more licenses than required for their actual usage.

Integration Challenges

Disparate software systems may struggle to integrate seamlessly, causing increased IT support costs and further workflow disruptions as previously mentioned.

Building a Strategic Approach

In the pursuit of organizational efficiency and streamlined operations, consider these five key strategies to optimize your software ecosystem:

How Managed Solution Can Help

As seasoned veterans of successful digital transformation projects, we help ensure you have the software you need with a measurable return on investment. By leveraging our team you free your company from the clutches of software sprawl through the following advantages:

• Consolidation for Efficiency: Streamline your software ecosystem by identifying and consolidating redundant applications, ensuring that each tool serves a unique and necessary purpose.

• Leveraging Expertise: Seek the expertise of IT professionals to conduct thorough software audits, helping you understand usage patterns, license requirements and opportunities for consolidation.

• Holistic Management: Implementing a comprehensive approach to the management of your software allows for centralized control and monitoring of your software environment, optimizing performance and ensuring compliance with licensing agreements.

• Strategic Collaboration with Vendors: Engage in proactive discussions with software vendors to negotiate favorable licensing terms, considering factors like volume discounts and flexible payment options.

• Regular Review and Updates: Stay informed about changes in software usage patterns and technology trends. Regularly review your software portfolio to identify opportunities for further optimization.

Centralized Control

Managed Solution provides a centralized platform for overseeing software assets, enabling efficient monitoring, updates, and compliance management.

Cost Optimization

By leveraging our experts, Managed Solution can facilitate the consolidation and efficient management of software applications. Our proactive approach empowers organizations to negotiate more favorable licensing deals, capitalizing on volume discounts and ultimately optimizing costs associated with software usage.

Expert Guidance

At Managed Solution, we have mastered the art of analyzing our client’s software environments to build better strategies and provide ample guidance and resources to maximize their cost efficiencies.

Enhanced Security and Compliance

Managed Solution will enforce security protocols and ensure compliance with licensing agreements, reducing the risk of legal and financial consequences.

Learn More

Tackling software sprawl is a strategic imperative when building a robust ROI for your technology. Through consolidation, expert guidance and licensing discounts, organizations can not only cut unnecessary expenses but also enhance efficiency, security, and compliance.

If you would like to learn more about how Managed Solution can help you overcome the costs of software sprawl, chat with one of our experts here.

By Howard Baldwin

It's an adage as old as time (or at least as old as the invention of the personal computer): Technology is destined to cycle constantly between complexity and simplicity.

Remember the hassle of attaching peripherals in the days before USB ports? Remember the anguish of developing applications for competing OS interfaces before HTML? We fixed those problems, and whaddya know, we moved on to others.

"Complexity grows over time," says Bryson Koehler, chief information and technology officer (CITO) of The Weather Company in Atlanta. "Systems are built to do one thing, and then they're modified, morphed and bastardized to do things they were never meant to do."

Complexity occurs when technologies overlap one another -- "when you add new stuff but keep the old instead of getting rid of it," agrees Dee Burger, North America CEO of Capgemini Consulting.

Even as recently as three years ago, Burger says, "people thought they could do massive replacements of technology" -- say, move everything to SaaS applications in the cloud -- "but now we're seeing way more adding of technology rather than replacing." Just consider how many new collaboration tools the enterprise has embraced without replacing or reducing email.

The result can be a tangle of overlapping, redundant systems that costs money, slows innovation and hinders organizations from identifying new business opportunities.

Sometimes you have to turn something off and see who yells. - Dee Burger, Capgemini Consulting

"I've been in discussions with CIOs who want to replace something, but they can't be sure of what would happen if they did," Burger says. They're reluctant to find out what kind of chaos would ensue. But "sometimes you just have to turn something off and see who yells."

Computerworld spoke with five CIOs who did just that and lived to tell the tale. Read on for their advice on how to tackle complexity and emerge with a more efficient, agile and auditable technology stack.....

READ MORE

Source: http://www.cio.com/article/2956720/it-strategy/how-to-reduce-it-complexity-and-increase-agility.html