Why IT Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore Licence and Subscription Waste

Why IT Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore Licence and Subscription Waste

SaaS tools now sit at the heart of almost every organisation. They enable collaboration, productivity, security, and innovation. But alongside that growth sits a quiet and persistent problem. Licence and subscription waste is steadily eroding IT budgets.

For most internal IT teams, this is not a failure of intent or capability. It is a capacity issue. When teams are focused on keeping users productive, responding to incidents, delivering projects, and supporting the business, licence management often becomes reactive rather than strategic.

The Scale Of The Challenge

Industry research consistently shows that licence waste is widespread. Studies suggest that organisations typically waste around 20 percent of their SaaS spend due to unused or underutilised licences. In some environments, only around half of purchased SaaS licences are actively used.

This waste adds up quickly, especially as SaaS portfolios expand year on year. Automatic renewals, departmental purchasing, and a growing number of specialist tools all contribute to spend drifting away from actual value.

Microsoft licences deserve special attention

For most IT leaders, Microsoft licences represent one of the largest and most visible subscription costs. Microsoft 365 in particular is often foundational to how people work, but it is also one of the most commonly mismanaged platforms.

Research into Microsoft 365 estates has shown that more than half of licences can be inactive, oversized, or assigned to users who no longer need that level of access. Many organisations overspend simply because licences are never reviewed once assigned, premium tiers are used by default, or joiner and leaver processes are not tightly linked to licence control.

The result is that businesses pay for capability they never fully use, while IT teams lack the time or tooling to continuously optimise their Microsoft environment.

The risk goes beyond cost

Poor licence management is not just a financial issue. It also introduces security and compliance risks. Dormant accounts, unnecessary admin permissions, and unmanaged access create exposure that grows quietly over time.

Without a clear view of who has access to what, and why, organisations struggle to maintain strong governance across cloud and SaaS platforms.

Why outsourcing makes sense here

Licence and subscription optimisation requires consistency, visibility, and discipline. That can be difficult to sustain internally when it competes with day to day operational priorities.

Outsourcing elements of IT management allows this work to be owned by a team whose core focus is monitoring, reviewing, and optimising licences and subscriptions continuously. This brings tighter control over Microsoft and SaaS estates, fewer renewal surprises, reduced waste, and a stronger security posture.

Most importantly, it frees internal IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives that drive real business value.

At FUTERA, we help organisations regain control of their Microsoft and SaaS environments so spend aligns with usage, risk is reduced, and IT performs at its best.