How Unused Applications May Be Hurting Your Budget

When a business finds new software solutions that can effectively replace their older, less efficient systems, applications can often go unused for extended periods of time. However, these unnecessary apps can waste time and money for your business, which can add up quickly. In fact, as much as 38 percent of enterprise applications are wasting away on organizations’ networks.

More specifically, 30 percent of applications went unused, while only eight percent were somewhat unused (less than once a month). According to a recent study by 1E, between the United States and United Kingdom, there are $34 billion dollars wasted on unused or rarely used software solutions. An average large enterprise stands to lose $7.4 million every year on unnecessary software solutions. Of course, small companies don't spend nearly as much in this area, but it’s very true that software licenses aren’t as cheap as you’d like them to be.

Of course, you may not have the time or resources to really pay attention to how much use your organization’s applications get. Unless you have an internal IT department whose sole responsibility is improving the way your business functions, you might just be renewing software licenses with little reference as to how often you actually use them. This is a practice that can cost your company a pretty penny in the long run, so it’s your responsibility to find a solution.

A comprehensive network audit is often a necessity when attempting to find improvements in your organization's infrastructure. It’s needed if you want to find where resources are being allocated and if they’re being used in the most efficient way possible. If your network is filled with unused or unnecessary applications, a network audit can identify them for you so that you know where to start your network cleanup procedure.

SMART Services can perform a comprehensive network audit that identifies bottlenecks and other inefficiencies in your business’s network infrastructure. We can then suggest ways to improve your network by streamlining operations and introducing you to new and improved software solutions that allow you to do more with less.

We also want to mention that it’s important to only pay for software licensing for solutions that you know you will be using, and to keep a close eye on when these licenses expire. Furthermore, through remote monitoring and maintenance, your business can more efficiently deploy patches and monitor software license expiration dates so that you know for sure that you’re only paying for solutions that you want to be paying for.

To learn more about network audits and remote monitoring and maintenance, reach out to us at 586 258-0650 .