Driving business performance through cost optimised innovation
How companies turn cost savings and innovation into a virtuous cycle.
What if today’s IT inefficiencies could be turned into tomorrow’s growth?
SoftwareOne’s global research report ‘Driving business outcomes through cost optimised innovation’ shows how companies are surging ahead in innovation by creating a self-sustaining cycle of savings and investment.
Based on a global survey of 600 business, IT and procurement decision makers, the report uncovers the best practices and priorities of these high performing businesses.
You’ll also find in-depth findings about AI, cloud adoption, security and cost management, as well as practical steps to kick-start your own self-funding innovation cycle.
Download the full report
Closing the innovation gap
While 67% of large enterprises report high levels of innovation, only 32% of middle-market firms say the same. This gap is a wake-up call for middle-market executives: 83% acknowledge that higher innovation is critical for staying competitive. To close the gap, they are focusing on customer and product innovation to boost the top line, and process and business model innovation to lift the bottom line.
The middle market lags larger enterprises on level of innovation
Middle-market companies’ hodgepodge of IT systems and software provides ample room for cost savings. Some 46% of middle-market companies report that software costs are too high, and a similar number say the same about cloud costs. Of those companies, one-third say both costs are too high. Another 21% are more negative, saying that their IT spending needs a complete overhaul.
Creating a virtuous cycle of innovation funding
Because of their limited budgets, middle-market companies are more apt than larger companies to fund innovation through cost savings from IT optimisation.
By modernising IT platforms and cutting excess software and cloud costs, they free up funds to invest in further innovation, creating a self-sustaining flywheel of continuous cost savings and investment.
‘Optimised Innovators’ lead the way
While all middle-market companies want to improve innovation and cut costs, they are at various stages of implementing an innovation flywheel. To reflect these stages, we classified each survey respondent into one of three innovation categories:
- Optimised Innovators have set cost optimisation as a high priority and made significant progress on building a modern IT foundation for driving innovation.
- Aspiring Innovators are making some progress on cost optimisation and modernising their IT foundation but still have more to do.
- Initiating Innovators are just beginning to develop a modern IT foundation and are in the early stages of cost optimisation.
Optimised Innovators are well ahead of their peers in laying a modern IT foundation to power a flywheel of cost optimisation and innovation. Their approach creates numerous measurable business benefits.
Top benefits from modernised IT platforms
Optimised Innovators report measurable financial gains from faster time to value, reduced costs, and higher profitability. For four out of 10, these benefits translate into higher shareholder value.
Optimised Innovators go all in on the cloud
More than two-thirds of Optimised Innovators have made significant progress in building a cloud-based infrastructure, and over half have moved their apps to the cloud and migrated core processes. A similar percentage have established governance, compliance, and security policies.
Areas of cloud implementation with significant progress
Optimised Innovators surge ahead in AI
While most companies are in the planning or early implementation stages of AI use, 84% of Optimised Innovators are midway or advanced in using AI for internal processes, and 71% for customer engagement and innovation. The AI divide is even more apparent in the adoption of generative AI. Optimised Innovators are nearly twice as likely as others to be at mid- or advanced implementation of Gen AI for internal purposes (61% vs. 31%).
Top AI use cases already implemented by Optimised Innovators
Optimised Innovators put data security and privacy first
Optimised Innovators know that fast-tracking innovation can expose them to greater data security and privacy risks. To protect themselves, Optimised Innovators use nearly every cybersecurity solution considerably more than other companies. These solutions include zero trust security (56% vs. 31%), automated risk monitoring (55% vs. 35%), RegTech (46% vs. 27%), data loss prevention (44% vs. 32%), and security orchestration, automation and response (43% vs. 28%).
Top technology risk solutions used
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