A New World of Remote Work: A Smarter Software Stack with G2 Track

With face-to-face interactions (momentarily) a thing of the past, we’re all leaning on tools like Zoom, Slack, and Google Docs to thrive in this new normal of work.

Here at G2, we were founded on kindness, and our mission is to help employees achieve their potential through the power of software. When considering this, we know many of you are more cost-conscious now than ever and are likely looking for ways to optimize your software stack. We want to help.

We're excited to offer G2 Track for free to companies during these tumultuous times. All organizations can now use G2 Track completely free of charge to identify opportunities to optimize their tech spend for 90 days – no strings attached.

Since G2 Track’s launch in 2019, we’ve been fortunate to help more than 1,000 companies navigate the sprawling software landscape. In that time we’ve discovered three key factors that triggered massive overspend in the industry, to the tune of $546 B on Enterprise Software alone in 2019!

1. The software industry is growing at an exponential rate – and so is spend on software.

Enterprise software has routinely been one of fastest-growing global industries – there are new software companies launching daily and it’s become an almost impossible task to quickly and smartly find the right software in such a densely populated landscape.

The industry is showing no signs of slowing – from G2’s proprietary data sourced from G2 Track – companies with more than 250 employees are spending an average of $3025 per employee per year on enterprise software, up 12% from last year.

Even with COVID-19 tightening department budgets, software spend continues to rise. In a recent G2 survey on SaaS spend during the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed that nearly 70% of respondents believe that spending on software will be the same as before the crisis or actually increase. Sentiment driven by the increase in demand for software that facilitates remote work.

It’s more important now than ever before for companies to make sure that they’re 1. Keeping tabs on their software stack and 2. Selecting and purchasing the right software for their needs, as these needs increase.

2. But companies are also potentially wasting money on unused or underutilized software.

Software isn’t the problem – companies are too often mismanaging their software stack due to lack of clarity into what they already own, as well as a lack of data on what software fits their needs best.

Idle software, shadow IT, and duplicate products have runamuck in the industry – and as companies become larger, software becomes harder to manage and the problem persists.

We found that:

• 30% of software tools are idle or underutilized – productivity and time management software lead the pack.

• Between 10-15% of a company’s software stack doesn't have a clear owner, contract or approval (Shadow IT)

• 25% of software spend is on products with similar or overlapping functionality – organizations are buying duplicate products"

• 18% of purchased software products have a user satisfaction rating lower than 4, according to G2.

• 69% of software contracts have an auto-renew clause and a notice period for cancellation (between 30 and 90 days).

• Less than 10% of SaaS contracts are under a money-saving, multi-year contract (organizations are paying premium prices).

According to our data, some organizations could be spending half of their software budget on idle, underutilized, or duplicate software.

With G2 Track, these companies can now eliminate wasted software spend in the currently challenging economic climate.

3. Most software leaders are making sub-optimal decisions.

There is a lack of transparency in software – not only in the quality of products available, but also in contract terms, pricing structures, and cancelation periods.

Your technology decisions can give you a competitive edge. With G2 Track, we’re striving to clarify the often opaque world of software purchasing to help businesses make the best decisions — especially in times like these. Through our free 90-day offer, companies can gain more visibility into how much they are spending, determine if they are fully utilizing their software and establish how critical the software is to their business. Base on these three things, businesses can optimize their stack to build a better world of work for tomorrow.

Article source: https://news.g2.com/a-new-world-of-remote-work