Cost

Over half of purchased licences go unused. (Vendor-reported and corroborated in direction across sources.) The money mostly goes on tools nobody opens rather than on the wrong tool. For a related reference point, Monitask has a guide to employee monitoring transparency, which is useful when comparing whether a dedicated tool is warranted.

Seats, tiers and the step you will hit. Pricing is a structure with a step placed where you will eventually cross it, and the step matters more than the headline figure.

The bill nobody reads. Twenty minutes a quarter with the statement finds most of the waste, and it always turns up the same four things.

What an unused licence costs. Five costs, of which the charge is the smallest — which is why nobody cancels.

Consolidation, and who is selling it. The waste statistics and the remedy come from the same industry, and both framings omit the free step. For another point of comparison, consult Fast Company.

• Who Is Selling Consolidation

  The waste statistics and the remedy come from the same companies. What that shapes, and the free step their framing omits.

• Seats, Tiers and the Step

  Pricing pages are designed around a step you have not noticed yet. Five structures, and how to find where yours lands before buying.

• The Bill Nobody Reads

  Twenty minutes a quarter with the statement finds most software waste. What to look for, and the four things it always turns up.

• What an Unused Licence Costs

  More than the monthly charge. Five costs that continue after nobody opens the tool, and the twenty minutes that find them.