20% of Software Budgets Wasted on Unnecessary Business Complexity, Freshworks Survey Finds

A new report from Freshworks reveals the true cost of complexity for today’s businesses. The Cost of Complexity Report, based on a global survey of 706 professionals across IT, customer experience (CX), finance, and operations, highlights the three areas where complexity causes the most damage to a business: revenue, employee productivity, and morale.

The Freshworks report shows that software itself has become a primary drag on bottom-line efficiency and top-line growth, finding that organizational and software complexity drains an average of 7% of annual revenue—a loss roughly equal to the size of a typical R&D budget, according to EY.

Business software is a leading source of this complexity, according to the report, with companies wasting ₹1.20 for every ₹5 spent on software due to failed implementations, underused tools, and unexpected costs. While that’s damaging enough, the broader economic impact is staggering. Across the ...