Companies spend 28% of IT budgets on software upgrades

A report from Origina says large enterprises spend 28% of their IT budgets on vendor-driven software changes they would not otherwise have chosen. Origina calls this spending a “software tax.”

The report also describes a toll on employees’ time. It found that 84% of respondents said senior engineering staff always or often spend time handling vendor-driven changes, taking them away from other work. James McGlennon, a former Liberty Mutual CIO and Origina board member, described the cost as recurring rather than one-off.

Vendor dependence is another concern. According to the report, 80% of respondents said leaving a major software vendor could cause widespread business disruption. Meanwhile, 78% said vendors dictate the timing and terms of changes, and 76% said they have little negotiating power.

The report found that 91% of respondents had retired fully functional hardware in the past three years to meet software vendors’ support deadlines. The source article suggests Windows 10’s end of support may be a significant factor, but says Origina did not specifically identify it as one.

Looking ahead, 91% of respondents support legislation offering enterprise customers greater protection, while 82% support software support obligations similar to the EU’s hardware repairability requirements.