A local law firm came to us for a fresh perspective on their IT services. They were frustrated about their high IT bill and wanted to explore ways to optimize costs.
After a review, we discovered that software bloat was a significant contributor to their high expenses.
Over the years, the firm had added many software programs. As time went on, they used some of these programs less frequently or forgot about them altogether.
The Problem: Software Bloat is More Common Than You Think
A study by Flexera shows that 36% of software that businesses pay for is wasted or not used enough. This was true for the law firm, especially with their Microsoft 365 licenses.
Higher-tier licenses, costing almost $20 more per month than necessary, were assigned to many employees who did not use all the features.
Our Solution
We performed a full audit of their software use. We looked at each software license and found ways to save money.
We confirmed with the firm’s staff whether they used all the features of their software. Then, we suggested switching to lower-tier licenses where possible.
By changing 20 employees to lower-tier licenses, we cut their IT software costs by hundreds of dollars each month.
The Result
The law firm’s IT software costs dropped by over 20%, freeing up capital for other important business expenses like marketing, payroll, and advertising.
Takeaway
Reducing software bloat is straightforward and can save a lot of money. By auditing your software licenses and optimizing them according to actual usage, you can see similar savings.
A license audit is a quick win that most firms can complete in a few hours. If you haven’t reviewed your Microsoft 365 license tiers recently, it’s worth doing — the savings are often immediate.
Reach out if you’d like help reviewing your current stack and identifying where you can trim costs without losing functionality.