Survey Finds Enterprises Pay for Harmful Software Changes
A survey of 2,018 enterprise IT leaders reports widespread payment for vendor-initiated changes they believe hurt performance, reliability, or business value.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Software
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A survey of 2,018 chief information officers and senior IT decision-makers at enterprises with at least $1 billion in annual revenue found that 95 percent paid for vendor-initiated software changes they believed would negatively affect performance, reliability, or business value. The survey, commissioned by Origina, included roughly equal participation from the United States and United Kingdom.
Why it matters
Large organizations allocate approximately 28 percent of software budgets to upgrades, migrations, and licensing modifications, and 76 percent of respondents described their negotiating leverage with vendors as minimal. The findings suggest enterprise buyers face structural constraints in controlling costs tied to platform changes.
The survey of 2,018 enterprises with at least $1 billion in annual revenue found 80 percent say switching major vendors would cause substantial operational disruption. The sample is drawn from large U.S. and U.K. organizations, and the extraction does not indicate how the results apply to smaller firms.
The players
Origina
Origina commissioned the survey of enterprise IT decision-makers on software vendor practices.
The details
Respondents reported that vendor-initiated changes over the preceding three years often required additional payment despite being viewed as detrimental, with more than half experiencing this multiple times. Innovation initiatives were cited as affected by these expenditures by 36 percent of respondents, while human resources, security, and customer-facing investments were each mentioned by roughly 31 to 32 percent.
Timeline
The changes described by respondents occurred over the preceding three years.
Roadmap
The survey results point to a broader debate over how enterprise software buyers can resist unilateral vendor changes, with 91 percent of respondents favoring legal protections comparable to long-term residential tenant protections. Enterprise software markets have increasingly centered on platform lock-in, where switching costs make vendor-imposed changes difficult to refuse.
For IT buyers, the findings indicate that paying for vendor-driven changes can consume budget that would otherwise fund innovation or security work. The 80 percent who say switching vendors would disrupt operations highlights why organizations often accept unfavorable terms.
The takeaway
Enterprise software buyers should track vendor-initiated changes and their costs closely, since the survey suggests such payments are common and difficult to avoid. Reviewing contract terms before major platform updates may help limit unplanned spending.
Further reading
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Source note: This article includes information reported by RocketNews.
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Should businesses have legal protections against software vendors forcing harmful upgrades?
