Freshworks Inc. (NASDAQ: FRSH), a software company empowering the
people who power business, today released the findings of a global
report, which found global IT professionals spend nearly a full
work day each week (an average of 7 hours and 19 minutes) dealing
with bloatware - unwanted, overly complicated SaaS add-ons and
features that hinders productivity and causes frustration at work.
The cost of trying to use unhelpful technology amounts to more than
$84B annually in wasted time in the U.S. alone, or $10M every hour
of every day, reinforcing that complex systems continue to be a
major financial strain – not to mention the negative implications
they can have on workplace morale and productivity.
Freshworks’ new report “State of Workplace Technology: Bloatware
– the difference between love and hate for workplace tech” explores
more than 2,000 global IT professionals’ interactions with
workplace technology. The report found that 89% of the global IT
professionals surveyed waste time each week due to pervasive
bloated technology, distracting them from their core
responsibilities and undermining the bottom line.
IT Pros Want More of LessDespite widespread
innovation and a societal movement toward simple, easy-to-use apps,
the new study reveals that bloatware is a persistent and pernicious
problem for organizations. IT professionals report that they have
an average of 14 different applications available for use on their
work computer, but only actively use half of them—meaning that half
are simply a distraction that lowers overall system performance.
Almost every IT professional (94%) says that their company could
benefit from reducing overall software contracts, while seven in
ten (71%) say their company would benefit from simpler
software.
The problem is widespread and substantial, with IT professionals
reporting bloatware infiltrates many aspects of their work. Notable
findings include:
- Too much clutter. Over half (54%) say their
organization pays for SaaS features that their IT teams never
use.
- Work software is overly complex. Forty percent
say too much of their tech stack is hard to use.
- It’s expensive. Forty-five percent say their
organization spends too much on its tech stack, while over
one-third (34%) believe their company doesn’t know how to stop
paying for unnecessary services.
- Fragmented solutions. Nearly two-thirds (63%)
prefer a single software solution for IT service management rather
than several applications.
Despite these costly and frustrating issues with software, seven
in 10 (70%) IT pros have hesitations about sharing feedback on
their software. Why? One in five don’t want to be seen as a
complainer (21%) and say their company has a history of ignoring
feedback (21%), while 17% don’t believe they’ll be listened to.
“Technology is critical for business success in today’s
digital-first world, but far too many organizations are distracted
by software they don’t want and can’t use to deliver on their full
potential,” said Professor Joe Peppard, former Principal
Research Scientist at MIT Sloan School of Management.
“With costs approaching $100B, the impact of IT bloatware on
businesses is far larger than most realized. More software isn’t
always better, and CIOs realize it’s time to break the doom cycle
of bloatware to help employees and businesses succeed.”
Frustrating Software Hurts Motivation and
PerformanceAlmost unanimously, IT pros are not satisfied
with their company software. Nearly 9 in 10 (89%) IT pros said they
have frustrations with their company’s software, with the leading
reasons being: it slows down their work (35%), it lacks flexibility
(33%) and it requires multiple programs to do their job effectively
(30%), but more worryingly is bad software also hurts work
performance and morale. Notable findings include:
- Contributes to the Great Resignation.
One-third of IT workers (36%) say being forced to use outdated
legacy software makes them want to quit their job.
- Hurts mental health. Eight in 10 (82%) IT pros
are burnt out and more than one-third (36%) say they are the most
burnt out they’ve ever been in their career. They see bloated
software as part of the problem, with 42% reporting that
easier-to-use software would help reduce their burnout.
- Better software can be part of the solution.
IT professionals say that easier-to-use software (42%) and software
that reduces workload (37%) would help reduce burnout.
IT Pros Will Give Up A Lot For Better
SoftwareSixty percent of IT pros say they hate using
outdated legacy software that isn’t easy to use. Many are so
frustrated with the software that they are willing to give up
benefits, including:
- 44% are willing to give up more vacation days
- 41% are willing to give up more parental leave
- 33% are willing to give up more sick/wellness days
“Legacy SaaS providers may have had good intentions by offering
more add-ons and features, but the era of complexity has backfired
and is bogging down businesses’ ability to deliver,” said
Prasad Ramakrishnan, CIO at Freshworks. “As we
enter a slowdown in the economy, the C-suite is re-examining their
tech stack to prioritize solutions that deliver maximum
productivity, not complexity and burnout. This is what we build
for, and it showcases that bloatware needs to go.”
Freshworks recently released Part 1 of its State of Workplace
Technology series titled, Workplace technology: The new
battleground for the war on talent, productivity & reputation.
It found that businesses globally face a potential workplace crisis
due to inadequate technology - which damages employee productivity,
mental health and the ability to retain talent - as an overwhelming
91% of employees report being frustrated due to inadequate
workplace technology. Meanwhile, 71% of business leaders
acknowledge that employees will consider looking for a new employer
if their current job does not provide access to the tools,
technology or information they need to do their jobs well.
MethodologyFreshworks conducted this research
using an online survey prepared by Method Research and distributed
by RepData among n=2,001 adults ages 18+ that work full time as IT
professionals, with n=500 U.S., n=500 U.K., and n=100 in each of
the following ten countries: Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany,
France, Singapore, Australia/NZ, Malaysia, India, United Arab
Emirates, and South Africa. The sample was balanced by gender, age,
and company size, with an internationally representative geographic
spread of respondents. Data was collected from March 18 to April 9,
2022.
Wasted time due to bloatware costs in the U.S. was calculated by
taking the median salary of computer and IT pros in the U.S.
($91,250 per U.S. BLS Data, May 2020) and calculating an hourly
rate. Using the hourly rate, a per worker annual cost was found by
multiplying it by the annual amount of hours in the U.S. wasted
dealing with bloatware (7 hours and 45 minutes * 50 work weeks).
Then, by multiplying by the amount of U.S. IT workers (4.6 million
per Census’ American Community Data, 2016), it gives a final value
of $84.65B annual costs.
About FreshworksFreshworks Inc. (NASDAQ: FRSH)
makes business software people love to use. Purpose-built for IT,
customer support, sales and marketing teams, our products empower
the people who power business. Freshworks is fast to onboard,
priced affordably, built to delight, yet powerful enough to deliver
critical business outcomes. Headquartered in San Mateo, California,
Freshworks operates around the world to serve more than 58,000
customers including Bridgestone, Chargebee, DeliveryHero, ITV,
Klarna, Multichoice, OfficeMax, TaylorMade and Vice Media. For the
freshest company news visit www.freshworks.com and follow us on
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© 2022 Freshworks Inc. All rights reserved. Freshworks and their
associated logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Freshworks Inc. All other company, brand, and product names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies.
Media Contact:Erika
Howardpr@freshworks.com
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