720216The development of an innovative software usage metering system – ‘Rentsoft Meter’ClosedGRD Development of PrototypeInnovate UKWorldwide enterprise IT spending is projected to total $2.7trillion in 2012 (Gartner) & by 2020 it is estimated that the ICT industry will reach $5trillion (IDC 2012). Organisations are taking more services from the cloud & IT is considered a primary driver of business growth. The move towards the cloud will make it easier for users to get the applications they need, however this will lead to the provisioning of applications that are not utilized as intended, which will in turn lead to unnecessary compliance issues, hardware & software fees & reduced accountability. In today’s economic climate there is more pressure than ever to reduce IT budgets whilst maintaining/increasing services. Software costs make up a large proportion of IT budgets, however mkt research indicates that up to 75% of all software & services deployed by organisations are either not used or used sporadically & that less than 8% of companies are managing their software usage & tying into licences thus paying for what they actually use. The Business Software Centre Ltd (TBSC) seeks to develop an advanced usage tracking system ‘Rentsoft Meter’ to address this business opportunity. Rentsoft Meter will enable an organisation to collect info about what software is used, when & for how long. The system will aggregate info from many different sources & systems & create reports which show what is being used & not used & the costs of this. It will calculate potential cost savings for reducing wasted costs of software & running costs from non or low usage, & conduct analysis & prioritise cost saving opportunities. Once the user has this info they can choose to close down some items or re-negotiate supply contracts, saving money & streamlining processes. Rentsoft Meter will be targeted at medium-large orgs (public & private) where management of IT budgets are complex & the potential savings from using this system are considerable. Market entry is expected circa 3 months after project end.