GoKawiilOrigina survey: large enterprises lose 28% of software budgets to unwanted upgrades
A survey of 2,018 CIOs and senior IT decision-makers at firms with over 10,000 employees and $1 billion-plus revenue found that enterprises spend an average of 28 percent of software budgets on vendor-driven upgrades, migrations, or licensing changes. Ninety-five percent said their organization paid for a change in the past three years that it believed would reduce performance, reliability, or business value, and 53 percent said this happened more than once. The report, titled 'The Software Tax,' was commissioned by Origina, a company that sells independent software maintenance services, and conducted by Censuswide.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Because Origina stands to benefit from enterprises seeking alternatives to vendor-driven upgrades, its framing of independent maintenance as a solution should be read with some caution. Still, the data points to a broader dynamic in enterprise software: 76 percent of respondents say they have little negotiating leverage and 80 percent say switching vendors would be highly disruptive, suggesting vendor lock-in remains a structural issue for large IT buyers. CEO Tomás O'Leary frames this as a market failure leaving experienced technologists forced into costly compliance.
- 28% of enterprise software budgets go toward unwanted upgrades, migrations, or licensing changes, per the survey
- 95% of respondents paid for a change they believed would hurt performance or value; 53% experienced this more than once
- 76% report little negotiating leverage and 80% say leaving major vendors would be highly disruptive
Source: arstechnica.com, 2026-10-21
Published there as: “Survey: Enterprises waste 28 percent of software budgets on unwanted upgrades”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.