A digital workplace benchmarking service answers a question every CFO and procurement lead eventually asks: are we paying too much. Without a comparison, a renewal quote is just a number. With one, you know whether your per seat cost is fair, whether your plan mix is richer than it needs to be, and whether you run more tools per function than your peers. We provide that comparison on the buyer side, take no vendor commission, and are paid only by the buyer.
What we benchmark
Benchmarking is only useful when it compares the right things. We look at five dimensions across your digital workplace stack.
Per seat pricing
We compare what you pay per user for each major tool against market reference points for organizations of your size and sector. This is the fastest way to spot a contract that has drifted above market over successive renewals.
Plan tier mix
Paying for a premium tier across the whole organization when most users need a standard one is one of the most common forms of overspend. We compare your tier distribution, for example the split between Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, against what peers actually deploy. Our E3 versus E5 cost comparison shows how much that single choice moves the bill.
Add on load and tool count
We measure how many add ons ride on your core contracts and how many separate tools you run for each function. Running several overlapping collaboration or storage tools where peers run one is a clear signal for tool rationalization.
Utilisation
Cost benchmarks only mean something next to usage. A low per seat price on seats nobody uses is still waste. We benchmark utilisation so idle capacity surfaces alongside price.
How benchmarking drives savings
Benchmarking is the diagnosis, not the cure. Its value is in pointing the more expensive work at the right targets. Once you know which tools run above market and which tiers are over rich, the right sizing and renewal work has a clear order. That is why benchmarking is the natural front door to the full digital workplace cost optimization programme. Many clients start here to size the opportunity, then move into the assessment to capture it.
It also transforms a renewal. Walking into a vendor conversation with credible peer benchmarks turns a take it or leave it quote into a negotiation anchored on what the market pays. The principles in our SaaS renewal negotiation work depend on exactly this kind of evidence.
What our digital workplace benchmarking service includes
Our digital workplace benchmarking service is delivered as a clear, decision ready comparison rather than a data dump. You receive a per tool scorecard showing where each major application sits against the market on price and on usage, a plan mix comparison that flags where your tier distribution runs richer than peers, an add on and tool count view that highlights overlap, and an indicative savings range against each finding so you can prioritise. The deliverable is built to be shared with finance and procurement without translation.
Sized to your organization
A benchmark is only useful if the comparison set looks like you. We frame every comparison against organizations of similar size and sector, because a per seat price that is fair for a small business may be poor value at enterprise scale, and the tool mix a regulated firm needs differs from a lighter touch one. Matching the peer set is what makes the numbers credible when you put them in front of a vendor.
Built to drive action
Benchmarking that ends in a report nobody acts on is wasted. Every finding in the scorecard is written as a next step: a tier to right size, a tool to rationalize, a contract to renegotiate. That is why the service flows naturally into the assessment, where the findings are executed. You can take the benchmarks and act yourself, or hand them to us to capture.
Questions a benchmarking service should answer
A good benchmarking exercise answers the questions executives actually ask. Are we paying more per seat than comparable organizations. Is our plan mix richer than it needs to be. Do we run more tools per function than our peers. How much of what we pay sits on seats nobody uses. And how far is our current renewal quote from what the market would accept. If a benchmarking exercise cannot answer those five questions with evidence, it is not worth the time. Ours is built around them, with every figure dated so you know it reflects current vendor terms.
Where our benchmarks come from
We build benchmarks from a mix of engagement data, published vendor pricing, and market reference points. Because SaaS pricing and plan mechanics change often, every figure carries an as of date and is checked against current vendor terms before you act on it. We would rather give you a dated, defensible number than a confident but stale one.
What you receive
You receive a clear benchmarking view: where each major tool sits against the market on price and usage, where your plan mix runs rich, and where your tool count exceeds peers. Each finding carries an indicative savings range so you can prioritise. From there you can act yourself or move into the assessment, where we right size, rationalize, and renegotiate to capture the savings the benchmarks identified.