With software-related expenditures surging in 2024 and expected to rise further in 2025, consumption-based pricing is emerging as a scalable solution for managing high-value engineering licenses like Autodesk, Bentley, Dassault Systèmes, and Siemens. Accurate consumption measurement, like Open iT’s True Active Usage, is critical to optimizing this shift.
Rising Software Licensing Costs Demand Action
In 2024, nearly 80% of IT leaders reported rising software costs, with Gartner projecting a 14% spending increase in 2025. To manage these growing expenses, businesses are turning to consumption-based pricing, which Forrester predicts will account for 10% of enterprise software spending by 2025, offering a fairer, usage-aligned cost model.
Why the Shift to Consumption-Based Pricing Models?
From perpetual licenses offering unlimited access at fixed costs to subscription models introducing time-bound flexibility, licensing has evolved to meet the dynamic demands of engineering-intensive industries like automotive, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and energy.
In 2025, consumption-based pricing will dominate, aligning costs directly with usage and delivering unprecedented scalability and efficiency:
Cost Efficiency: By paying only for actual usage, organizations can minimize expenses, especially in environments with dynamic or unpredictable software needs.
Scalability: This model allows businesses to scale their software usage up or down seamlessly, accommodating growth or seasonal fluctuations.
Transparency: Aligning costs with real consumption provides clear insights into expenditure, fostering trust and accountability in vendor relationships.
Resource Optimization: The model inherently encourages mindful software usage, which can improve efficiency across teams.
Barriers to Effective Adoption: Lack of Usage Visibility
While consumption-based pricing offers significant advantages, it also introduces challenges, particularly for organizations lacking visibility into their IT ecosystems. Studies show that over 50% of IT teams struggle with IT visibility, leading to inefficiencies in tracking software usage and missed opportunities for cost savings.
Key obstacles include:
Limited Granularity in Usage Data: Basic license tracking tools often fail to capture the distinction between active and inactive usage.
Difficulty Identifying Inefficiencies: Without detailed data, IT teams cannot pinpoint underutilized licenses or optimize resource distribution.
Inability to Attribute Costs to Users: Understanding individual usage patterns is critical for accountability and accurate cost allocation.
Open iT’s True Active Usage: Enabling Precision in Consumption-Based Pricing
Despite its advantages, adopting consumption-based pricing presents challenges for organizations without detailed visibility into software usage. Open iT bridges this gap by addressing common obstacles, such as the inability to distinguish active from inactive usage or allocate costs accurately.
Open iT LicenseAnalyzer™ Level 2 delivers True Active Usage capability, empowering organizations to fully leverage consumption-based pricing by providing granular, actionable insights into software usage.
Key Features and Functionalities:
Real-Time Monitoring: Continuously tracks licenses, distinguishing between active usage (e.g., CPU, memory, mouse, and keyboard activity) and inactive usage (licenses checked out but idle).
Comprehensive Metrics: Captures key indicators like CPU load, memory usage, and I/O activity to pinpoint inefficiencies.
Customizable Thresholds: Enables administrators to define active/inactive usage parameters, such as marking applications idle after extended inactivity.
Centralized Dashboard: Consolidates real-time and historical data into a dynamic interface, showcasing license efficiency, availability trends, and usage heatmaps.
User-Specific Reporting: Provides detailed insights into individual license usage, supporting optimal allocation and compliance.
Preparing for the Future of Software Licensing
As consumption-based models reshape software pricing in multiple industries in 2025, organizations must prioritize tools and strategies that provide clear visibility into their license usage. True Active Usage is no longer optional—it is a fundamental requirement for success in this evolving landscape.
Open iT LicenseAnalyzer™ Level 2 provides organizations with the insights needed to thrive in a consumption-driven world. True Active Usage provides powerful insights into where licenses are being paid for but not actively utilized.
By identifying these inefficiencies, organizations can take actionable steps to drive meaningful cost reductions—whether by encouraging changes in user behavior or by implementing advanced optimization strategies such as license harvesting through Level 3.
Get in touch with Open iT and discover how True Active Usage can help your organization derive great value from your software assets.
