The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) saved more than $5 million per year after discovering that some agencies had paid for far more software than they were utilizing.
For example, the IRS paid for 3,000 software licenses but used only 25. When DOGE found the waste, it cancelled the remaining 99% of the licences.
“Agencies often have more software licenses than employees, and the licenses are often idle (i.e. paid for, but not installed on any computer),” DOGE said in an article about X. “These audits have been continuously run since first posted in February.”
DOGE said that the Department of Labor reduced 68% of unneeded “project planning” software licenses, while the Securities and Exchange Commission reduced 78% of the remote desktop software packages it was paying for after discovering that the commission was only using 22% of the programs.
According to DOGE, the three improvements saved more than $5 million annually.
When DOGE shared a piece on the United States General Services Administration (GSA) in February, it prompted concerns that agencies were paying more for software licenses than people.
With 13,000 employees, GSA was paying for 37,000 WinZip licenses, a tool for archiving and compressing files.
In addition, the agency pays for 19,000 training software subscriptions, 7,500 project management software seats for a division with just 5,500 personnel, and three distinct ticketing systems.
The most recent post comes as DOGE’s face, billionaire Elon Musk, steps down.
While DOGE was entrusted with eliminating $2 trillion from the budget, its efforts resulted in approximately $175 billion in savings through asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud payment reduction, and other cost-cutting measures, according to an update on DOGE’s website.
According to the website, the savings total approximately $1,087 per taxpayer.
Musk told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that the savings will continue to grow, and he expects total cuts to reach $1 trillion in the coming years.
“The DOGE influence will only grow stronger,” Musk has stated. “It reminds me of a Buddhist. It’s like a way of life, and it’s infiltrating the entire administration. And I’m convinced that we’ll save $1 trillion over time, as well as reduce $1 trillion in waste and fraud.”