The IT Buying Friction Atlas | SIM Advantage Research

The evidence

The status quo, stated plainly

10–20%

of annual IT budget reported as avoidable waste by most companies, with 30% putting it higher

SAP LeanIX

60%

of technology buyers involved in renewals regret nearly every purchase they make

Gartner

10–25%

waste estimated by midmarket IT leaders across software, cloud, and hardware alike

Block 64

Your friction profile

Now make it yours

Choose the profile closest to your organization. Every figure below recalculates.

Annual revenue

Industry

18%

of IT budget as avoidable waste, roughly $1.8M a year modeled

days in a typical buying cycle, evaluation to signature

62%

of buyers in this profile report purchase regret

active technology vendors in the typical portfolio

Modeled planning figures translating published survey ranges (SAP LeanIX, Gartner, Block 64) to executive scale by revenue band and industry.

The details, when you want them

Everything below expands on demand. Open what interests you; the proof of concept at the bottom requires none of it.

Where the money leaks

The five biggest waste drivers, ranked by how often organizations report them.

Waste is not one hole; it is five, and the largest are the quietest. Relative severity across the research base:

The pattern to notice: four of the five drivers are ongoing conditions, not bad purchases. They accumulate between transactions, which is why point-in-time negotiation, however tough, never catches them, and why standing visibility does.

Why buying drags, stage by stage

The six-stage failure map from need to renewal, and where the delay concentrates.

Cycle-time drag concentrates in predictable places:

And the delay is a symptom of the deeper failure map, stage by stage:

Need emerges

A business unit identifies a gap, but existing tools and contracts are rarely checked first.

Vendor intake

Sales narratives outpace internal fact-finding and total-cost validation.

Technical review

Security, integration, and architecture checks surface late and reset the shortlist.

Commercial review

Pricing and terms are negotiated against an incomplete picture, with weak benchmarks.

Approval chain

IT, finance, procurement, and legal each re-open the same questions in sequence.

Launch and renewal

Ownership fragments after go-live, usage fades from view, and the renewal arrives unbenchmarked.

Sources and method

The published research behind the atlas, and how the modeled figures are built.

Source	Key contribution
SAP LeanIX cost optimization research	Most companies report 10 to 20 percent of IT budget as avoidable waste, with 30 percent putting it higher; 77 percent lack total-cost visibility and most cite weak IT-business collaboration.
Gartner buying research	Three in five renewal-involved technology buyers regret nearly every purchase; unguided buying paths increase regret while blended guidance improves deal quality.
Block 64 midmarket survey	Midmarket IT leaders commonly estimate 10 to 25 percent waste across software, cloud, and hardware, with a notable group at half or more.

Method: the profile figures are modeled planning estimates that translate these published survey ranges to executive scale by revenue band and industry. They are directional by design; your own numbers, through a proof of concept, are the only figures that matter for your decision.

Every leak and delay in this atlas is an ongoing condition, and ongoing conditions need standing guidance, not a better one-time negotiation. That is the design brief SIM Advantage was built to meet.

The gateway

SIM Advantage: a SIM-vetted technology buying and renewal process

Every engagement follows one certified methodology, runs on one intelligence platform, and produces a defined deliverable, so the experience is the same in every chapter, from every advisor, every time. You keep your suppliers, your contracts, and your negotiating leverage, and the same activity creates value back to you, your team, and your chapter.

Bring one to three spend initiatives

Renewals, purchases, reviews. A few minutes to register. No signature, nothing changes on your accounts.

Compare the proof

Run your traditional process as usual. The program prices the same requirements in parallel, line for line, at the same price or less.

Evaluate what it would earn

Alongside the price comparison, see what those initiatives would generate for you, your team, and your chapter. Then you decide.

Start with a simple proof of concept, and see the impact you can have.

No signature, no meeting, no obligation. Ask your chapter leadership or SIM National about SIM Advantage.