The DOGE effect: The Rush to Rethink Software Asset Management Across Federal Government

The establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on January 20, 2025 underlined a clear priority within the new administration—efficiency by removing fraud, waste and abuse. DOGE’s prime objective is to modernize federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity—the effects of which are already being felt. According to a recent DOGE account post on X, the General Services Administration (GSA) had recently taken action “by deleting 114,163 unused software licenses & 15 underutilized / redundant software products — for a total annual savings of $9.6M.”

This is not an isolated incident and federal agencies across the board are under pressure to rapidly demonstrate an understanding of their software contracts/agreements to ensure they can stand up to increased scrutiny from DOGE. The problem? Many are not prepared and have no idea of the scope, scale or state of their software estate.

The writing was already on the wall

In many ways, the signs were already there that change was afoot. In December 2024 a new bill was received into the Senate—the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act (H.R 1695). The SAMOSA Act, as it’s more commonly known, addresses Software Asset Management (SAM) practices by federal agencies and requires those operating under the CFO Act to conduct comprehensive software asset assessments, address identified gaps, and transition to efficient license management strategies. While, the bill has not been passed into law, the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing recently announced its support for a bipartisan group of lawmakers calling for its introduction.

Yet, though it seemed for a while that the SAMOSA Act would be the catalyst for change, it is in fact the real and immediate threat from DOGE that has lit the touchpaper on change around software management in the federal government.

Indeed, so great are the current federal policy changes that Gartner has published its own assessment on what the impact will be on U.S. Government IT spending. Its over-riding statement presents a cautionary tale: “New U.S. federal policy changes will reshape government IT spending, impacting technology and service providers.”

What does this mean for federal agencies?

There is a very real and immediate need for action within federal government. In practice what this means is that agencies need an overview of their software contracts/agreements to ensure they can stand up to increased scrutiny. As such, they need to have the right reporting mechanisms to document software licenses/contracts, usage, and compliance with security and licensing policies.

As a Gartner recognized global leader in Software Asset Management (SAM) for five consecutive years, Anglepoint can help federal agencies to quickly understand their software estate and produce the right documentation to satisfy DOGE requirements. Over the last 16 years, Anglepoint has accumulated unparalleled experience in working with both public and private organizations to optimize software usage, drive efficiencies, and meet complex regulatory or legislative demands.

Introducing the “Software Licensing Efficiency Assessment” from Anglepoint

Anglepoint’s new service provides federal agencies with a health-check analysis of their software estate, with the findings presented in a report—the Software Licensing Efficiency Assessment. The report enables federal agencies to quickly and easily understand waste within their software estates and savings that can be made, while also providing data driven insights to justify existing metrics to any oversight authorities—such as DOGE.

The service is readily available on government contracts for a one-time fixed cost determined by agencies’ number of publishers to be assessed.

Anglepoint’s service takes a staged approach to implementation, providing automated AI driven rapid value, assessed and analyzed by world-leading software experts:

Stage 1: Centralizes the data

• The system gains control and visibility of the data. It centralizes IT assets before assessing compliance readiness. This allows federal agencies to consolidate data and prioritize the publishers in their software estates.

Stage 2: Identifies the risks within the system, looking at:

• Waste: license discrepancies and poor contract management
• Fraud: flags compliance issues and security vulnerabilities
• Abuse: looks at overpayments to vendors and any resulting, surprise, audits

Stage 3: Software Licensing Efficiency Assessment

• The system provides a report—the Software Licensing Efficiency Assessment—highlighting identified opportunities for efficiencies. This will eliminate shadow IT by highlighting unapproved installs. It optimizes software portfolios by removing redundant apps and unused licenses. And it will optimize contracts and stop wasteful renewals.

This fast, yet comprehensive, approach is guaranteed to help agencies ensure they have everything in place ahead of any future assessment by DOGE.

What next?

DOGE is showing no signs of slowing down in its quest for efficiency—so the onus is now on federal agencies to enact change now. The understanding of software estates is no longer a nice to have, but rather a corporate necessity for those wanting to demonstrate their productivity and efficiency.

Anglepoint is unrivalled in its levels of expertise—and as a Gartner leader in its space—has the requisite skills to quickly and ably lead organizations through new legislative changes and demands. If you would like to hear more about our Software License Efficiency Assessment, please contact Anglepoint.