A recent Gartner survey revealed that 78% of CIOs (chief information officers) are gearing their 2024 tech budget towards data analytics software, second behind cybersecurity (80%). This is a crucial development, considering software license spending across industries is poised to intensify and companies want to control their costs while generating substantial ROIs.
Software License Budgets Expand While Licensing Challenges Persist
Organizations continue to expand their software license portfolios to remain competitive and meet evolving market demands. However, the growing investment in software has led to a complex web of licensing agreements, presenting a significant challenge.
This complexity arises from the wide array of software licensing models available today, including traditional perpetual licenses, subscription-based models, and various usage scenarios. Managing this complexity effectively has become a daunting task, leading organizations to confront issues such as overspending, non-compliance, and operational inefficiencies.
Further compounding software licensing challenges are the dynamic IT environments prevalent in the contemporary landscape. The ubiquity of cloud computing, virtualization, and mobile technologies adds layers of complexity to the monitoring and metering of software usage, particularly across diverse platforms and devices.
Data-Rich, Insight-Poor
Organizations possess a wealth of data relating to software license usage, procurement activities, and software licensing agreements. However, a significant challenge emerges: despite having this abundant data at their disposal, organizations often grapple with the task of fully realizing its potential for guiding strategic decision-making.
Research has revealed that 41% of business leaders have difficulty unlocking the value of data due to its complexity and inaccessibility. Additionally, 33% indicate a lack of capabilities for deriving insights from their data, while 30% express feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data at their disposal.
Data analytics enable organizations to collect, cleanse, and transform all their raw information into sensible, actionable insights. But without software license management, the genuine value of this data remains largely untapped, creating missed opportunities.
Software vendors themselves often introduce challenges by utilizing intricate licensing metrics that may be challenging for organizations to interpret and apply effectively. Deciphering these metrics and ensuring that the right licenses are procured to meet specific organizational needs becomes an ongoing necessity.
CIOs Recognize Value of Data vs. Licensing Issues
The good news is that CIOS have become increasingly aware of the central role that data plays in influencing business decisions, enhancing performance, and optimizing processes, especially in the context of addressing software licensing issues.
However, to truly unlock the potential of their software licenses and extract maximum value from their software investments, CIOs must also recognize the synergistic power of pairing data analytics and reporting with robust software license management.
Here’s a deeper exploration of this integration:
Optimized License Allocation
Software license management tools provide insights into software usage patterns, enabling organizations to identify which licenses are actively used and which are underutilized. By pairing this information with data analytics software, organizations can allocate licenses more efficiently. This minimizes overspending on unnecessary licenses while ensuring that enough licenses are available to meet actual needs.
Proactive Compliance Management
Software license management solutions continuously monitors software usage and compliance status. This integration can automatically detect any deviations from license terms and conditions, providing organizations with proactive alerts and notifications. This minimizes the risk of non-compliance, which can result in legal and financial consequences.
Cost Control and Savings
The combination of data analytics and software license management helps business leaders identify opportunities for cost control and savings and make data-driven, confident decisions. Data analytics tools like Power BI, when integrated with a software license management solution like Open iT, helps them better understand the performance of their license portfolio.
By analyzing software usage data, organizations can uncover underutilized licenses, evaluate transitions to more cost-effective licensing models, or negotiate better terms with vendors. This data-driven approach ensures that software spending is aligned with actual requirements.
Data-Driven Decision-Making
Software license management solutions provides organizations with data-driven insights into software usage, costs, and compliance. This data empowers decision-makers to make informed choices about software selection, licensing models, and upgrades. It ensures that software investments are strategic and cost-effective, directly contributing to organizational goals.
Vendor Negotiations
Equipped with accurate license consumption data, organizations can negotiate with software vendors from a position of strength. They can leverage usage data and compliance information to negotiate volume discounts, explore more economical licensing models, and extend support agreements. This can lead to significant cost reductions and more favorable terms.
Forecasting and Planning
Software license management solutions aid organizations in forecasting future software needs based on historical usage trends. This supports more accurate budgeting and strategic planning for software investments, ensuring that the right licenses are procured at the right time and avoiding overcommitment or underinvestment.
Data Analytics + Software License Management: A Strategic Combination for CIOs
The upward trajectory of software spending necessitates a more strategic and data-driven approach to software license management. With a significant proportion of CIOs recognizing the pivotal role of data analytics and reporting in this context, it is poised to become the cornerstone of addressing software licensing challenges in 2024.
The combination of software license management and data analytics promises to unlock opportunities for cost optimization, compliance, and strategic alignment, helping organizations harness their data to control costs and generate substantial returns on their software investments. Discover how Open iT can amplify the value of your software licenses with its comprehensive license usage monitoring and reporting features. Get an Open iT representative to contact you today!
