A recent thought came to me the other day while making my morning coffee and watching my smart meter do a reverse countdown as the kettle boiled and my stovetop Bialetti began to gurgle under the gas flame. I made the mistake of checking my utility provider app (prior to any coffee being consumed), and I was shocked by how much the bill was tracking for the month, a new record high. While I do love the fact that technology has advanced to where we can now track our real-time usage (and cost) at the touch of a button, the result still caused me to be disappointed & and concerned – all before my morning
coffee.
This got me thinking…while technology can be transformative, we’re not always happy with the end result. For most organisations, technology spending is one of the largest indirect costs to manage. And while technology costs may not have skyrocketed as much as energy prices have over the past couple of years, they are increasing. 2022 has been a very challenging year, with UK inflation hitting a new record of 11.1%, the highest in over 40 years. Technology is not immune to rising costs, evident from Microsoft’s significant licensing price increase in March 2022 (up to 20% on some products), with a further increase of 9% due on all cloud services in the UK from April 2024.
According to John-David Lovelock, (VP Analyst at Gartner) who advised in a recent Gartner article (Oct 2022), “Enterprise IT spending is recession-proof, as CEOs and CFOs, rather than cutting IT budgets, are increasing spending on digital business initiatives,”. This makes good sense, as organisations that do not maintain or grow their investment in technology will be left behind. Global technology spending is projected to reach $4.6 trillion in 2023, an increase of 5.1% from 2022.
When we talk to CFOs / FDs about their technology spend, most will have a headline figure in mind; however, they are always surprised when the real figure is revealed. It may not (yet…) be possible for you to track your technology utilisation costs in real-time via an app, but you can obtain valuable insights into your technology spending across the organisation, including insights on areas where you’re either oversubscribed or overpaying with significant opportunities to optimise your overall technology spend. And unlike viewing your utility provider apps, we’re confident you’ll be pleased with the result.
Because increasing your investment in technology doesn’t mean increasing your overall technology spend….Get in touch to find out why.