Almost two-thirds of IT managers in the UK are unclear what software is being used in their companies, and a third are unable to account for how many software licences they own, according to a survey.
The larger the company, the more severe the problem appears to be. In businesses with over 3,000 staff, more than 63% of IT managers could not present a clear picture of the software their colleagues used. For companies of 1,000 to 3,000 staff, the figure was 54%.
The survey, of 100 IT decision-makers in large businesses, was conducted by market researcher Vanson Bourne and consultancy Centrix.
The vertical sector with least awareness of its software is manufacturing, where 62% of IT managers at firms of all sizes could not say how many licences their companies use.
Centrix says the findings demonstrate that businesses across the UK are wasting IT budgets by oversubscribing to licences.
Lisa Hammond, CEO at Centrix, claims that in a company of over 5,000 staff, savings of up to £2 million (NZ$5.3 million) could be made. “Company executives have to maintain a tighter rein on their technology investments,” she says. “Only when an organisation is in full control of its software assets can it begin to accurately measure the returns that software is delivering.”