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Weekly intelligence for Supply-Chain, Procurement & CEO desks
LEADERSHIP NUGGET
Software costs continue to rise, licence waste remains high, and audit exposure is returning as a major budget risk. Procurement teams that build price protection, licence control, and vendor-exit rights into contracts will avoid cost shocks in 2026.
EXEC SNAPSHOT - What changed this quarter
Salesforce raised list prices by ~6 % for Enterprise and Unlimited editions on 1 August 2025 (Salesforce, 2025).
The EU Data Act is now in force, and the phase-out of cloud switching and egress fees is underway ahead of the full ban in January 2027 (EU Data Act, 2025).
Companies continue to report 25–30 % unused software seats, signalling immediate savings potential through rightsizing (SaaStr, 2025).
Software licence audits — especially from Oracle Corporation — remain active and have resulted in significant retroactive charges for unlicensed use (Computer Weekly, 2025).
DEEP-DIVE DEAL - How to buy software for 2026
Software vendors are increasingly growing revenue through price increases, not user expansion. Salesforce’s August price action is one of several 2025 examples (Salesforce, 2025).
At the same time, the EU Data Act gives buyers more leverage by forcing cloud vendors to allow low-cost or no-cost switching and data export by 2027 (EU Data Act, 2025).
Meanwhile, licence audits are again being used as a commercial lever. Oracle and other large vendors have issued multi-million-dollar back-charges where usage and licensing did not match (Computer Weekly, 2025).
What Procurement must do now
Secure price-cap clauses in every renewal and new contract.
Link price increases to added value, not vendor policy.
Build audit readiness: entitlement lists, deployment logs, usage data, quarterly internal checks.
Automate licence rightsizing (joiner/mover/leaver workflows + seat reclamation rules).
Negotiate cloud exit terms ahead of 2027, not when switching becomes crowded and costly.
Five clauses to add in your next software negotiation
Annual price-cap limit (≤ 3 %)
“Value for price” addendum
Audit protocol with notice period and evidence boundaries
Seat reclamation / de-provisioning SLA
Cloud exit + portability clause linked to EU Data Act timelines
KPI DASHBOARD - Software Sourcing & Automation Metrics
KPI (Key Performance Indicator) | Current Benchmark / Signal | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
SaaS (Software as a Service) spend per employee (US $) | ~$4,830 avg in 2025 (SaaStr, 2025) | Shows pressure on software budgets. |
Unused / inactive licence seats (%) | 25–30 % waste reported (SaaStr, 2025) | Indicates immediate rightsizing opportunity. |
Contracts with annual price-increase caps (%) | Target ≥ 60 % by H1 2026 | Prevents uncontrolled price inflation. |
Audit-ready vendor coverage (top 5 vendors) | Target ≥ 4 | Reduces risk of unplanned audit charges. |
Licence de-provisioning cycle-time (days) | Target ≤ 5 days | Avoids paying for licences no longer used. |
Cloud exit portability score (0–5) | Target ≥ 4 | Prepares for no-fee vendor switching (EU Data Act). |
LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS
Do our software contracts already include price-increase caps?
Can my team explain how a software audit works and what triggers it?
How many licence seats are paid for but unused today?
Do we have a working cloud vendor exit plan before 2027?
How long does it take us to remove access and reclaim licences when someone leaves?
3-MINUTE DIAGNOSTIC - Team Readiness Check
(Assess how confidently your team manages these topics)
Team Capability | Fully confident | Not sure | No time / No resources |
|---|---|---|---|
My team includes price-cap clauses in software contracts by default. | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
My team understands software audits and is prepared for one. | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
We track unused licences and keep waste below 30 %. | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
We have at least one cloud exit plan aligned with the EU Data Act. | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
We can remove access and reclaim licences within 5 days of offboarding. | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
INNOVATION OF THE WEEK - AI-Powered Supply Chain Control Tower
Maine Pointe has launched TVO Control Tower, an AI-enabled platform that unifies procurement, logistics, operations and finance data into one decision layer (Maine Pointe, 2025). The tool provides real-time visibility, scenario simulation, and value-tracking across the full value chain — moving beyond traditional siloed dashboards.
Why this matters for procurement:
Connects supplier, logistics, cost and performance data in one interface
Enables proactive scenario modelling instead of reactive reporting
Supports executive-level decision-making in unstable demand and cost environments
Your career will thank you.
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ONE-LINE VERDICT
Software contracts in 2026 must protect three things: price control, licence control, and the right to exit without penalty.
Sources
Salesforce, Inc. (2025, June 17). Pricing update: list prices to increase ~6 % from August 1 2025. Retrieved from https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/pricing-update-2025/
SaaStr. (2025, June 30). The great SaaS price surge of 2025. Retrieved from https://www.saastr.com/the-great-price-surge-of-2025-a-comprehensive-breakdown-of-pricing-increases-and-the-issues-they-have-created-for-all-of-us/
EU Data Act. (2025, January). Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data. Retrieved from https://www.eu-data-act.com/Data_Act_Article_29.html
Computer Weekly. (2025, July 15). Businesses say they are getting four Oracle Java audits a year. Retrieved from https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366627543/Businesses-say-they-are-getting-four-Oracle-Java-audits-a-year
Maine Pointe. (2025, November 4). Maine Pointe launches AI-powered supply chain solution TVO Control Tower. Retrieved from https://www.consulting.us/news/12598/maine-pointe-launches-ai-powered-supply-chain-solution-tvo-control-tower