Software costs climb in the age of AI

AI is driving up software costs, and in 2026 companies are once again facing the dilemma of whether to subscribe to it or own it

Last year and this year have been marked by widespread price increases in enterprise software, primarily driven by the enormous costs of developing artificial intelligence. The main impact is on standard office software, forcing companies to look for cost-saving solutions.

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, as well as Google Docs, Google Sheets, Gmail… collectively, office software forms the foundation that hundreds of thousands of companies and millions of users in the Czech Republic rely on. Both Microsoft and Google already raised the prices of their products last year, and starting July 1, 2026, Microsoft will increase Microsoft 365 licenses by an additional 12 to 17%. Moreover, the company is eliminating some volume discounts for online services, and this trend of reducing benefits is expected to continue. In practice, this will mean an increase in costs for corporate clients of an additional 6 to 12% over other price hikes in the coming years. This year alone, Czech companies are paying hundreds of millions of crowns.

The main players justify the price increases primarily with the costs of developing AI tools that they have recently integrated into their products. Even though organizations often do not actively use many AI features for various reasons, they still have to pay for them. At the same time, with business conditions changing rapidly, IT budget predictability is decreasing.

Companies that used to look forward to discounts when renewing contracts are finding that discounts are decreasing or disappearing, while uncertainty about future prices is increasing. And no one can tell you today how much a license will cost in three years.

– Jakub Šulák, CEO of Forscope

Companies that previously adopted subscription-based cloud services now face a choice again: whether to continue relying on this model or switch to a perpetual software license. While this used to be mainly a technological decision made by IT departments, it has now become much more of a strategic decision at the level of the finance department and company leadership. Mr. Šulák warns:

It is necessary to know the true total cost of software ownership over a three- to five-year horizon. This includes not only the license price – whether perpetual or subscription-based – but also anticipated price increases, the extent to which features are used, and potential costs for migrating from one system to another.

Three tips for saving

For companies that have already committed to Microsoft 365 subscriptions and cannot imagine switching platforms, there is a simple way to save: renew or purchase a new subscription at current prices before July 1.

Another way to optimize costs is a hybrid model, combining perpetual licenses for key products with cloud services for selected applications, such as email. For example, if a medium-sized company chooses a combination of perpetual licenses for key products and cloud services for email instead of 500 Office 365 E3 licenses renewed annually at €300 per license, it could save €170,000 over three years – almost 38%. Most of the 500 users do not need advanced, constantly expanding features hidden behind the more expensive solution. The key is to correctly identify the users who will actually use these advanced features.

A third cost-effective option is purchasing secondary software. Beyond the continual release of new software versions, there is a fully legal market for secondary (used) software within the EU, where companies can buy fully functional, legally valid perpetual multi-licenses, often at 50–70% savings compared to new licenses. Provided the license is purchased from a verified supplier with complete documentation, it guarantees the same functionality, access to updates, and full legal certainty.

For companies that have moved to the cloud (via Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace), there is also the question of what happened to the perpetual licenses they previously owned. If they remain unused, they represent frozen capital. Buying back (buy-up) and selling unused perpetual licenses can provide a significant contribution toward covering cloud product costs.

A perpetual license offers one crucial advantage over subscription-based models: independence from changing vendor prices and conditions. Jakub Šulák explains further:

With a subscription, a company does not own the software but becomes a customer with ongoing payments. This means the vendor can change conditions, prices, or program structures at any time. In contrast, a perpetual license allows companies to modernize at their own pace. If an organization has a stable infrastructure, it can take into account dependencies on older solutions or budget limitations and does not need to rush an upgrade just because the vendor changed the licensing model.

Want to save on licenses? Start with the experts

The path to savings through secondary software is feasible, but to make sense and avoid legal risks, it is best to entrust purchases (and potential sales) to someone who knows the process inside out. Only a proper analysis of your software portfolio will show where real savings lie. To ensure the process runs smoothly and complies with European legislation, it is necessary to follow established rules, best guided by someone with real experience.

Forscope has completed numerous projects for both commercial companies and public administration and understands the specifics of the local environment in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe. If you need advice or guidance on a situation that could help your company, the easiest path is through Forscope – contact us for a consultation.