STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Snow Software (“Snow”), the global leader in Software Asset Management (SAM) and Cloud Management solutions, has announced the findings of a major piece of research, commissioned to gain insight into the changing balance of technology purchasing and the issues this raises.
The explosion in cloud applications and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) has enabled business units to purchase critical business software and increasingly bypass the IT team when defining, sourcing and managing new IT initiatives. The research found that changes in IT procurement and consumption are driving a divide between business and IT.
Concern over business unit control
24 percent of survey respondents say at least half of their organizations’ technology spend is controlled by business units, rather than the IT team. In addition, 19 percent say control is shifting away from IT.
The survey revealed the extent of IT leaders’ concern as business units increasingly take ownership of technology spend.
- 90 percent expressed concern that audit preparation is becoming more time consuming and complex as a result.
- 83 percent are worried cloud spend will spiral out of control.
- 70 percent were concerned about the increased data security risk.
- 60 percent are concerned or very concerned about the increased threat of non-compliance.
- 41 percent are concerned about losing control and influence.
- 42 percent are lacking visibility into technology spend.
- 29 percent feel they are losing control of costs.
An opportunity for IT to become more strategic and innovative
Despite their concerns, 69 percent of survey respondents see the increasing business unit ownership of technology spend as an opportunity to better support and align with the business.
- 65 percent feel business unit involvement will not undermine agility and innovation.
- 49 percent believe that increasing ownership of IT spend by business units will provide an opportunity for them to personally focus on more strategic initiatives
- 30 percent also reported that the shift has made it easier to command boardroom attention, as the organization’s leadership gets to grips with digital transformation.
“There is no question that many CIOs are now grappling with the divide between business and IT as purchasing patterns continue to shift – a divide we call the Disruption Gap. However, CIOs needn’t fear this shift. This research illustrates that forward-thinking CIOs are adapting to become a trusted advisor to the business,” said Axel Kling, CEO at Snow Software.
“Increasingly, the CIO is required not just to define and lead individual projects, but to provide the CFO and the executive team with an understanding of technology budgeting, aggregation of spending plans across the organization (regardless of owner) and assurances that money is being spent wisely.” You can’t do that, says Kling without the correct solution. “These responsibilities are impossible to deliver without insight into technology consumption. This requires mature processes and actionable analytics.”
Click here to download the report: INNOVATION, TRANSFORMATION AND CONTROL.
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About Snow Software
Whether it’s through lack of control, lack of understanding or lack of compliance, Snow (www.snowsoftware.com) believes that most organizations today end up paying too high a price for their software.
Snow Software is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with offices across the globe. It is the largest dedicated developer of SAM solutions designed to ensure that the investment in enterprise software is money well spent – ensuring organizations have the appropriate licenses for the software they use – not too many, not too few.
With more local offices and regional support centres than any other SAM solutions provider, more than 4,500 organizations around the world rely on Snow Software's on-premise and cloud-based SAM solutions to manage software licensing across more than 11 million devices, from mobile to desktop, data centre to the cloud.
Methodology
Snow Software commissioned IDG to interview 100 CIOs & IT leaders from companies with more than 500 employees, to investigate the ‘Disruption Gap’ between business unit technology spend and the concerns of the central IT team to reign-in overspend through duplication, missed opportunities for volume purchasing and shelf-ware. The survey was conducted in the UK from November 2017 to January 2018.
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