Enterprise IT is sitting on a goldmine of untapped cost saving opportunities. From £7.5 million in avoided laptop refreshes to £3.4 million in unused software licences, organisations are uncovering millions in hidden costs simply by understanding Digital Employee Experience (DEX) insights into the performance, health, and usage of their endpoints.
With greater IT visibility and monitoring into endpoints and real-time data, IT teams are streamlining spend, automating fixes, and reallocating resources to where they add the most value.
Across sectors, more enterprises are embracing this shift. They are using data to move IT from reactive support to a driver of performance, innovation, employee engagement, and productivity. Here are five proven strategies that show how smarter decisions are delivering real cost savings for enterprise IT organisations.
1. Cut waste by shifting from reactive to proactive IT
For too long, IT departments have operated reactively — responding to problems after they occur and following rigid, calendar-based refresh cycles regardless of actual need. This approach has led to significant waste across the enterprise technology landscape. In one example, a major bank that analysed real-time endpoint usage data found that only 600 of its 7,000 laptops required replacement after evaluating usage patterns and machine stresses data. In this case a DEX monitoring platform guided smarter hardware decisions.
The results mean an annual planned refresh was unnecessary, and the bank uncovered a substantial saving opportunity of £7.5 million by abandoning mandatory annual refresh cycles. Similarly, a financial services firm uncovered a savings opportunity of £3.4 million in unused software licences — costs that could have been avoided with better visibility into actual needs.
Savings uncovered through smarter endpoint management — such as avoiding unnecessary device refreshes or cutting unused software licences — can be redirected into high-impact initiatives. In 2024, 59% of CEOs allocated capital to emerging technologies, according to Aberdeen Strategy & Research. Furthermore, 68% planned to increase investments in 2025. These investments might include:
- Funding pilot programmes in AI,
- Accelerating IoT deployments,
- Investing in automation tools that further reduce IT burden and improve digital experience.
Instead of simply reducing spend, optimisation becomes a catalyst for innovation.
2. Uncover hidden IT waste from endpoint data
Wasteful IT spending often stems from poor visibility. DEX platforms now provide real-time, granular insight into how devices and software are actually used. I don’t mean “Big Brother” usage; instead, this issue is about right-sizing devices to end-user personas to ensure each employee has the right tech stack for their role. DEX platforms collect data from endpoints across the enterprise, providing unprecedented insight into technology usage and needs.
The Lakeside SysTrack platform deploys lightweight sensors that analyze thousands of data points per device every few seconds, providing real-time visibility into key areas: hardware health and utilization, software usage and licensing, device performance and user experience, user interaction, and environmental compliance. From system boot times and login durations to battery health and application performance, the platform continuously gathers and analyses endpoint data to surface actionable insights.
The resulting intelligence allows IT teams to identify over-provisioned hardware, underutilised software, and performance bottlenecks before they impact end-user experience and productivity. Enhancements, such as an executive dashboard, are extending this visibility beyond IT teams — giving business leaders a clear view of digital experience trends and their impact on productivity.
As data becomes increasingly central to business operations, the demand for high-quality, real-time information is more critical than ever. Just as important as the depth, breadth, and history of data for yielding endpoint device intelligence is the quality of data, especially data used for machine learning models designed to improve digital employee experience. To make confident, timely decisions, IT leaders need access to rich, up-to-the-minute data — not outdated or fragmented metrics. But visibility is just the beginning, what you do with that insight determines real impact.
3. Catch and fix issues before they hit productivity
With high-quality data flowing from endpoints, IT teams can identify and address problems before they affect productivity. Rather than waiting for support tickets to accumulate, proactive monitoring catches early warning signs of degrading performance.
A global insurance company demonstrated this approach by identifying via SysTrack an incident where a Group Policy Object was spawning multiple command processes, consuming 20% of CPU resources across numerous machines. By resolving this issue before employees noticed, they prevented significant productivity losses, without relying on employees reporting any problems they experience.
Unlike traditional tools, some advanced DEX platforms collect and analyse thousands of data points per device in near real-time, enabling IT to act fast. It then builds off an intelligent AI agent that gathers 10,000 data points every 15 seconds from nearly every type of endpoint device. That volume of data provides the analytics, applications and dashboards, equipping IT teams with the real-time insights needed to drive smarter decisions and reduce friction.
4. Predict and automate fixes at scale to reduce ticket volumes
AI and automation are already helping IT teams cut support volumes, solve problems before users notice, and focus on more strategic work. One enterprise, for example, automated 800 ticket resolutions a month, saving £160,000 annually and significantly reducing response times.
By identifying potential issues early, such as overloaded servers or underused licences, AI enables IT to act before disruptions occur. Automation then steps in to resolve common issues at scale, freeing up staff time and improving overall efficiency.
With real-time insights and automation, IT shifts from merely reacting to problems to proactively identifying and reducing them before they escalate, maximising efficiency and minimising disruptions.
5. Turn IT from a cost centre into a competitive advantage using DEX
This shift isn’t just about reducing ticket volume or cutting costs, it’s about elevating IT’s role in the enterprise. CIOs are no longer just managing infrastructure or fielding IT Support tickets; they’re driving innovation.
Smarter monitoring and automation don’t just keep the lights on – they free teams to focus on growth. One EMEA-based enterprise saved over £154,000 by reducing IT service desk calls by 4% monthly and reclaiming 40 minutes per incident.
As AI and automation reshape IT strategy, success will belong not to those with the largest budgets but to those with the sharpest focus on impactful areas – driving proactive, intelligent operations that enhance business strategy and boost organisational efficiency, outpacing competitors.
Discover what IT optimisation could unlock for your organisation: https://www.lakesidesoftware.com/roi/
Lakeside Software is ushering in a new era of proactive IT with SysTrack, the industry’s most powerful AI-driven Digital Employee Experience (DEX) platform. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies worldwide, Lakeside SysTrack dramatically reduces IT costs, prevents system failures before they occur, and drives strategic decision-making through unparalleled visibility. Learn how you can save 20% on annual IT costs per employee at lakesidesoftware.com.
