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Image: Is the Flexera Data Platform “Worth It”?

Organizations considering a system like the Flexera Data Platform have one overarching question: “Is it worth it?” That’s a very valid question, so let’s take a look at a recent study performed by Forrester Consulting.

Flexera commissioned Forrester Consulting to perform a Total Economic Impact (TEI) study to quantify the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by implementing the Flexera Data Platform. The results of the study, published by Forrester in May 2018, show a clear positive economic impact. In other words, Forrester found that Flexera is definitely “worth it.”

To perform the study, Forrester interviewed two Flexera customers with years of experience using the Flexera Data Platform. Based on the data gathered from the interviews, Forrester developed a composite organization designed to be representative of the two companies. The composite is used to perform an aggregate financial analysis and show the total economic impact that Flexera could have on an organization.

Forrester’s resulting financial analysis revealed the software would pay for itself in less than one year. Over a three-year period, the Flexera Data Platform would provide $5.9 million in total benefits, against $1.5 million in associated costs.

Let’s break it down.

In building the composite organization, Forrester made the following key assumptions:

  • 6,000 endpoints
  • 3,000 servers
  • $30 million annual software budget
  • Flexera deployment took two months to complete
  • All values are reported in risk-adjusted three-year present value (PV)

Benefits

  • $2.4M in cost savings by consolidating and eliminating unused software licenses
  • $1.2M in avoided costs from increases and penalties for additional software license requirements discovered by audit activities
  • $1.5M savings from eliminating unnecessary hardware maintenance
  • $645K realized by improving the productivity of staff performing ongoing compliance management and mapping activities
  • $138K savings from reduced effort required to identify software running in a divested entity environment

Costs

  • $1.4M in perpetual license fee and annual maintenance costs
  • $71K in one-time implementation costs and Flexera professional services

To sum it all up, Flexera provided the composite organization $5.9 million in benefits versus $1.5 million in costs, for a net savings of $4.4 million (net present value) and an ROI of 302 percent. But there’s even more to the story. The Forrester team also revealed qualitative benefits for the two organizations interviewed.

  • Improved security position – The Flexera software identifies vulnerabilities in the organization’s software sometimes earlier than other security scanners
  • Improved service desk credibility – Flexera gives service desk managers a clearer picture of employees’ software environments to be able to resolve issues faster

Of course, every organization is different and the savings and costs of implementing the Flexera Data Platform will vary. The full report of the Forrester study provides a framework for organizations to use the Forrester Total Economic Impact methodology to identify the benefits, costs, flexibility and risk factors of implementing a Flexera Data Platform solution. Download the full report to learn the positive economic impact Flexera could have on your organization.