"How much will we save?" is the first question every SAM program is asked. The honest answer is that it depends, but that is not an answer a CFO accepts. This article explains what drives the range, what the published benchmarks say, and how to set a target you can defend and beat.
What the benchmarks say
Gartner's often-cited research found that organizations with mature software license optimization processes, automated with SAM tools, reduced software expenses by an average of 30% within the tools' first year. Zylo's 2025 data shows how much room there often is, and Flexera's 2025 survey suggests the room is growing.
Those figures describe what is possible, not what every organization will achieve in year one. Gartner's figure comes from mature programs; Zylo's from a dataset that leans toward large enterprises. Your number depends on where you start.
What drives your number
An estate that has never been reviewed holds more waste. See the SAM maturity model.
Per-user SaaS and productivity suites usually offer more reclaim and right-sizing opportunity than infrastructure contracts.
Savings at renewal can only be captured when renewals come round. A year with few renewals is a year with fewer savings.
The more teams buy their own tools, the more duplication there is to consolidate.
Vendor mix matters as much as maturity. The same program, applied to different kinds of software, produces very different percentages:
How to set a target finance will believe
- Build it per vendor
Estimate each lever for your top 10 vendors from your own usage data.
- Discount for confidence
Halve speculative savings; keep the evidence-based ones.
- Phase it by renewal date
Show when each saving can land, quarter by quarter.
- Agree the definition
Decide with finance what counts as a saving before you start.
- Report identified and realized separately
See SAM KPIs.
For a quick first range, try our savings estimator.
After year one
Savings change character after the first year. There are fewer large one-off wins, and more value from preventing new waste, keeping renewals governed and negotiating better terms. A good second-year target is usually smaller in percentage but more predictable, and the cumulative saving keeps growing.
How MI One helps
Frequently asked questions
Is 30% realistic?
For some estates in some years, yes. For planning, a lower, evidence-based target you can beat is more useful.
Do savings continue after year one?
They change character: fewer large wins, more prevention of new waste and better renewal terms.
Should the target include cost avoidance?
Report it, but separately. Run-rate savings and avoided costs mean different things to finance.
Sources
- Gartner, "Gartner Says Organizations Can Cut Software Costs by 30 Percent Using Three Best Practices," July 19, 2016. https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2016-07-19-gartner-says-organizations-can-cut-software-costs-by-30-percent-using-three-best-practices
- Zylo, "2025 SaaS Management Index," January 16, 2025. https://zylo.com/news/2025-saas-management-index
- Flexera, 2025 State of ITAM Report press release, June 18, 2025. https://www.flexera.com/about-us/press-center/it-teams-losing-visibility-according-to-flexera-2025-state-of-itam-report