Why does purchasing software take so long?

Things that are known to take a lot of time to complete: trips to the DMV, a 1,000-piece puzzle… and purchasing business software?

According to a survey of enterprise software buyers by AI procurement platform Levelpath, 57% of traditional software purchases take 11 weeks or longer from point of need to final approval. For AI software worth more than $10,000, this rises to 72%.

And what makes matters worse is that many companies take too long to decide on the right software. Nearly half (45%) of U.S. software decision makers surveyed by Software Finder in June said their purchasing experience took so long that the original business need became “irrelevant” before the purchasing decision was finalized.

What is the delay? There are several reasons why the buying process for companies often takes a long time. According to Levelpath, more than half (58%) of respondents said security checks delayed or derailed a purchase. A similar proportion (57%) said provider reviews delayed the process.

Noe Ramos, VP of AI operations at Agiloft, said a lack of internal alignment can lead to bottlenecks in software purchases.

“The reviews that stall are usually the ones where every stakeholder has veto power, but no one has decision-making power,” Ramos said. “And that can happen quite often, especially when there are multiple stakeholders.”

Meanwhile, Adam Shea, director of AI go-to-market at TEKsystems Global Services, said buying AI software is even more complicated. When it comes to such purchases, Shea said an increased need for “cross-functional alignment” within an organization can extend the time frame for the purchase.

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“With a traditional software purchase, a business unit can often buy a few seats and get started,” Shea said. “But with AI you have to coordinate with the security, compliance and legal teams. [and] There are different enterprise architects before a tool or a single line of code is deployed.”

Short and sweet. We asked IT pros how companies can speed up software purchases. Ramos said companies can start by assigning clear ownership roles in the process.

“You need clear ownership. You need to know who will pull the plug if something goes wrong. You need to have made those decisions,” Ramos said. “Don’t wait to make these decisions until you have a tool approved.”

Sharon Stufflebeme, managing director at Protiviti, added that when evaluating suppliers, companies should have clear requirements that guide their decision-making process.

“There are the functional requirements and then the non-functional requirements, like does it meet data standards? Does it meet security standards? Can I integrate this product with the other products in my portfolio that need this integration?” Stufflebeme said. “All of these things are part of the supplier evaluation process.”

Stand to. While companies may be looking for ways to shorten the time it takes to acquire new software, Stufflebeme said some purchases will naturally take longer: “While 11 weeks may seem like a long time, if it’s a large product that you’re going to be using that impacts the entire organization, it’s probably going to take some time.”

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