New Help Desk Efficiency Report Pinpoints Major Trends and Inefficiencies in Software License Management and Distribution

LONDON & NEW YORK – November 15, 2010 – 1E, a software and services company that improves IT efficiency by identifying and reducing costs and waste in hardware, software, energy and time, today released new research outlining major trends in software management and distribution entitled: Help Desk Efficiency Report. 1E commissioned the research to help organizations better understand IT user perceptions and reduce IT operational costs.

The Help Desk Efficiency report found that three-quarters of respondents have unused software on their PCs – averaging three to six applications per user. A leading industry analyst firm estimates that 22 percent of all IT spending is on software, which is $726 billion annually worldwide. Knowing that a single piece of software can cost upwards of several hundred dollars with licensing and support, these findings indicate that a significant percentage of IT software spending is currently being wasted.

While industry analyst firms estimate that IT departments spend on average $12,000 per user per year, more than one-third of respondents to the Help Desk Efficiency Report say they are receiving little or no value from the money their IT department spends on them.

New software requests are a common occurrence, with more than one-half of respondents requesting one or more software applications in the last 12 months. Disturbingly, 62 percent of users have waited up to a week or longer to receive their requested software. This data shows that the impact on user productivity is clearly too great.

Slow and inconsistent delivery of new software is not by chance. The research indicates that the process for requesting new software is fragmented and manual – with 73 percent of users still initiating requests by phone or email. 1E estimates that deploying user self-service tools to automate software requests could collectively save organizations $8.6 billion per year in IT help desk costs.

Commissioned by 1E and conducted by Vanson Bourne, an independent research company, the report includes responses from 1,000 business users across the United States and United Kingdom. Additional demographic and research methodology can be found in the full report.