Organisations taking the gamble on IT optimisation are seeing major payoffs, new research from SoftwareOne found.

Their new research shows that companies leading the way in IT cost optimisation and innovation are twice as likely as others to see an improved return on investment (50% vs 26%), report higher profitability (35% vs 23%), and faster time to market (43% vs 26%).

The new SoftwareOne study, conducted by an independent global research firm, investigates IT costs management and innovation best practices for mid-market companies.

The research surveyed organisations in 12 countries across six industry sectors across the global.

While 48% of executives at mid-sized companies lack the budget or are unsure they have the budget to fund the next round of innovation, those at the forefront of optimised innovation apply seven best practices to achieve results.

Building a modern IT platform is essential, in installing a modern IT foundation for driving ongoing cost optimisation and innovation.

Investing in key digital initiatives, especially over the next two years, can help put companies ahead. Those at the forefront plan to significantly outspend other companies on critical technologies. The gaps were most evident for spending in network security, automation, and cloud and SaaS management.

Those at the forefront of optimised innovation use nearly every cybersecurity solution more often than others.

More than two-thirds have made significant progress in building a cloud0based infrastructure, and more than half have moved their apps to the cloud and migrated core processes. A similar percentage of optimised innovators have established governance, compliance, and security policies.

Over the next two years, those at the forefront plan to have 70% of their software applications and workloads in the cloud, as well as 56% of their customer application.

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Closing the AI gap and moving head with adoption strategies is also paramount, as 84% of those at the forefront of innovation are at mid- or advanced levels of using AI for internal processes and 71% for customer engagement.

“Aligning the business benefits of innovation investments with opportunities to strategically optimise IT estates is critical to success. Our study suggests that there is a clear opportunity for companies to optimise to innovate,” said Oliver Berchtold, president of Software and Cloud at SoftwareOne.

“Having defined innovation priorities that drive business outcomes, companies can have a more informed understanding of their IT landscape with an end-goal in mind. This includes analysing software licenses, cloud environments and custom applications to identify areas for optimisation.

“This process will free up resources to invest where it matters most to the business, whether it be GenAI adoption, security solutions, or accelerated cloud transformation. Bringing these opportunities into reach serves as a catalyst for growth.”