Origina Blog

Take Control of Your SAP Future with Origina

Origina — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:30:00 GMT

SAP Customers Can Now Modernize on Their Own Terms

We’re excited to announce Origina’s independent software maintenance and support services for SAP.

As the 2027 SAP support deadline approaches, many organizations are under pressure to migrate to S/4HANA, despite their current SAP environments remaining stable, effective, and aligned with business needs. Often, the business case for migration simply isn’t there.

For many organizations, their SAP environments are deeply embedded in critical operations and still delivering value. Yet they’re being pushed toward costly, disruptive migrations that consume budget, resources, and time that could be spent on innovation. This has left many business leaders asking do they really need to upgrade now?

Origina helps you to modernize on your own terms, not the vendor’s.

The Cost of Unnecessary Migration

Migrating to S/4HANA is a major financial undertaking. Beyond costs, there are resources required to plan, implement, and manage the transition.

For businesses running heavily customized SAP environments, the challenge is even greater. Years of customization, integration, and specialized workflows may need to be rebuilt or redesigned, introducing both cost and operational risk. Significant expenditure on large-scale migrations may reduce the resources available for innovation, digital transformation, and other strategic business initiatives.

For many organizations, maintaining a stable SAP environment while investing selectively in areas that drive measurable value is a more strategic and effective approach than undertaking a large-scale migration that may not deliver significant value.

An Alternative to Unnecessary Migration

Origina’s independent SAP support helps enterprises maintain secure, stable, customized SAP environments without unnecessary change. We don’t just provide support. We provide control, choice, and flexibility.

Origina’s SAP support can help you:

Extend the life of SAP systems that still deliver business value
Avoid costly and disruptive migrations
Reduce operational and security risk
Preserve complex customizations and business-critical workflows
Redirect budget toward innovation instead of unnecessary upgrades
Modernize strategically, based on your priorities and ROI

With Origina’s support, you can continue running your existing SAP environment securely and effectively for as long as it makes business sense and modernize when it suits you.

Take Control of Your SAP Roadmap

Migrating heavily customized SAP environments is expensive, resource intensive, and operationally disruptive. In many cases, organizations risk having to recreate years of customization from scratch in a new environment.

Origina gives enterprise SAP customers the power to control timelines, cost, and risk. Your SAP strategy should support your business goals — not your vendor’s roadmap.

Take Control of Your SAP Future with Origina. Contact us today or download our SAP Support Overview to learn more.

Introducing OPTAS: Origina’s Proactive Threat Assurance Service

Origina — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:45:00 GMT

We’re proud to introduce OPTAS, your new security ally. In an increasingly challenging threat landscape, OPTAS helps organizations move from reactive security to proactive control, providing greater visibility and clarity.

Security teams are under growing pressure as new threats emerge constantly. They are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of vulnerabilities they must validate, prioritize, and mitigate. By the time a threat is publicly disclosed, attackers may already be preparing to exploit it.

This reactive cycle carries a significant operational and financial cost. Every urgent investigation, emergency mitigation, unplanned system change, and disruption response consumes budget and specialist resources that could be focused on strategic priorities.

OPTAS helps reduce that burden.

OPTAS replaces reactive security with visibility, clarity, and control

Designed to think like an attacker, OPTAS looks beyond every theoretical exposure to identify the vulnerabilities a real attacker would be most likely to target. Its AI-assisted model is supported by independent human validation, helping distinguish genuine threats from background noise.

Threats are then assessed according to your specific risk context, with targeted mitigation guidance delivered by a dedicated team of security experts. This gives your organization more time to respond, reduces unnecessary remediation activity, and helps prevent emerging vulnerabilities from becoming costly operational incidents.

The Hidden Cost of Reactive Security

For most organizations, security remains reactive. Teams wait for a vulnerability to be disclosed, assess whether their environment is exposed, and then determine how to respond.

This approach can no longer keep pace with emerging threats—and it creates hidden costs across the software estate.

When security teams are forced to respond under pressure, organizations may need to redirect specialists from planned work, engage additional resources, introduce emergency controls, or take critical systems offline. Even when an attack is avoided, the process of investigating large volumes of alerts and theoretical vulnerabilities consumes time and budget.

How OPTAS Helps

OPTAS provides predictive intelligence, independent human validation, and practical mitigation guidance adapted to your environment. This gives security teams more time to assess their options and respond in a controlled, efficient way.

Rather than treating every potential vulnerability as equally urgent, OPTAS helps teams focus on the threats that present genuine risk to the organization. This reduces noise, avoids unnecessary work, and allows limited security resources to be used where they can have the greatest impact.

OPTAS does not replace your existing security systems. It enhances them by adding an earlier layer of human-validated threat intelligence, customer-specific risk context and practical mitigation guidance.

Why It’s Different

OPTAS helps organizations move from reactive response to informed action. By identifying emerging threats earlier and providing clear mitigation guidance, OPTAS enables teams to act before vulnerabilities become critical incidents. It helps you cut through the constant noise and provides clarity on where the real threats are coming from and how they can be stopped.

See tomorrow’s threats today with OPTAS, your new security ally.

Looking for predictive and proactive cybersecurity for your business? Talk to Origina today.

Reassessing Z Mainframes: Optimization and Support

Origina — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:21:19 GMT

Despite all the talk about the cloud, optimizing these workhorse systems can result in value-added support with an eye toward innovation.

The IT world seems to have two opposing opinions when it comes to IBM® Z mainframes. Publicly, companies are all about pursuing faster, cheaper, more modern alternatives, like the cloud. However, privately, it’s a different story altogether.

IT decision-makers might say the goal is to move everything to the cloud, but the reality is the majority of these companies know they cannot move away from mainframes.

Can you imagine the risk of an airline moving away from mainframes? All of their bookings, flight plans, crew planning, maintenance, and air traffic control are run on this legacy hardware.

What about the banking industry? Ninety-two out of 100 leading banks use mainframes for processing their large-scale transactions.

And 23 out of the top 25 retail organizations use mainframes to power transactions and manage inventory.

As a matter of fact, mainframes are used by 71% of Fortune 500 companies, specifically IBM® Z systems.

Flipping the Script

The accepted view in the industry is that mainframes are the ultimate technical debt, and technical debt must be replaced.

But maybe that’s not the right way to look at it.

For example, banks spend over $250B on IT costs annually, according to ABA Risk and Compliance. Some estimates place annual maintenance of mainframe legacy systems in the range of 50% to 80% of that figure.

Maybe it’s really not about the mainframe technology, but about the cost of maintaining these mainframes instead? Perhaps the conversation needs to shift from replacing the mainframe to restructuring the technical debt that comes with it.

Origina CEO and Founder Tomás O’Leary explored this topic in Episode 34 of our podcast, “Revisiting the Plight of the Mainframe.”

Perhaps the conversation needs to shift from replacing the mainframe to restructuring the technical debt that comes with it.

Address the Pain Points

There are three main pain points IT leaders are experiencing regarding Z mainframes:

High maintenance costs. What are you getting in terms of value? Are you receiving good support?
Skills gap. Many of the people with the skills to work on mainframes (mainly baby boomers) have begun retiring. On top of that, several years ago, IBM made a conscious decision to let people trained on mainframes go in favor of new hires who know newer systems. How are you going to fill that discrepancy
Modernization. How can Z platforms be updated? How do you change some mainframe applications to support innovation? And how can we ensure interoperability?

A good example of addressing these issues is Southern California Edison, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States.

“A few years ago, Southern California Edison’s IT organization was under pressure to remediate and strengthen their networks to protect themselves and their customers from potential service issues due to wildfires,” says Hari Candadai. “At the same time, they were rolling out a customer-facing system that was consuming a lot of their resources.”

They needed to redirect budgetary dollars toward their new initiatives and wanted a partner who could help them reduce their current mainframe maintenance costs while still supporting them.

Origina partnered with Southern California Edison to bolster support for their Z mainframe software, ensure interoperability with new systems, and reduce maintenance costs that could then be reinvested into newer projects.

“They would have potentially been under pressure to replace or would have been dealing with end of support issues,” O’Leary says. “Ultimately, it’s about changing the mindset.”

Want to learn more about optimizing Z Mainframes? Listen to the full podcast.

Challenging the Model: Innovation, Disruption, and Taking Back Control

Origina — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:00:00 GMT

We recently released the premiere episode of our podcast, 'Challenging the Model: Where Academic Thinking Meets Real World Leadership.'

Filmed in Harvard and hosted by Aidan McCullen, the episode features a discussion between Harvard Business Professor Linda Hill, author Scott D. Anthony, and Origina's very own Tomás O'Leary. Their conversation was packed with insights on innovation and leadership in an era of disruption.

Defined By Disruption

The current technology landscape is defined by constant change. As Scott puts it, "We are in a moment right now where there is non-stop disruption, where everybody is feeling it." However, many organizations still cling to traditional methods and outdated ideas about innovation, leadership, and identity. In a time of disruption, this can prove fatal.

The current thinking is that the new era will belong to leaders and organizations who remain curious, innovative, and willing to challenge and overcome barriers, including those within their own organizations. During the discussion, Scott describes unstated fears in many businesses “If you change, you invalidate your entire identity." However, change is right at the heart of the organizations that continue to thrive in times of disruption.

Real Innovation

One of the major issues holding many businesses back currently is, as Tomás describes it, "a view in technology that the only innovation is something new.” Ironically, this thinking is increasingly dated. New platforms, systems, and tools are represented as being inherently innovative. However, organizations need to interrogate exactly what they are delivering. What is presented as digital transformation is often "just churn." Linda says it best when she describes true innovation as "...anything that is new and useful to the organization." In other words, it doesn't need to be flashy; it just needs to add real value. 

Origina has always considered innovation an essential part of creating value for our customers. It means eliminating dependency on vendors and giving customers back control of their technology roadmaps. It means preventing forced migrations and resource-intensive upgrades that add little or no real value. This, in turn, provides our customers with a stronger platform for their own innovation.

This is the challenge for the industry, they have decided that the only way is something new and it’s got to be technology orientated and I think what we have to do is encourage a wider definition of innovation.

-Tomás O'Leary

New Thinking

In the big strategic discussions, "...there's nobody new being brought in.” Decisions based on the same perspectives and assumptions will naturally tend towards maintaining the status quo. There may be adjustments to strategies and processes, but there won’t be truly innovative, challenging, or disruptive thinking. 

Decision-making processes must be open and diverse to produce new ideas. Linda argues that business strategies should incorporate "...a competition of ideas." This requires business leaders to be brave enough to embrace change and new thinking from all areas of their business. Scott adds that business leaders need to "be more curious." 

The truth is– innovation doesn’t always need to be a new technology, service, or product. According the Tomás, at Origina the most innovative thing going on is “the way we’re treating our customers.” This means understanding their challenges, supporting their strategic decisions, and empowering them to move forward on their own terms. Innovation is first and foremost about people.

Restoring the Balance of Power

Tomás points to a profound shift in the balance of power within the world of technology. “The power is increasingly going to the supply chain.” This has created a scenario where, as he puts it, “...you can’t buy technology anymore. You can only rent it.” As well as leading to spiralling costs and wasted resources, this creates vendor lock-in and undermines an organization’s ability to chart its own path. Tomás’ warning rings increasingly true today “You need to look inside to where you’re ceding control of the direction of your company.”

However, he believes that a sea change is coming: “People don’t like what they are seeing.” There is currently a “grassroots movement” among customers who want to take back power. They are tired of unnecessary churn, reduced control, and increasing costs. Origina helps customers take back control of their roadmaps, avoid forced migrations, and get full value from the investments that they have already made. Organizations are increasingly resistant to ceding control, and increasingly aware that there are alternatives. Innovation can take many forms, and Origina is at the forefront of pushing that thinking. As Tomás puts it “Life is much more interesting if you blend the old with the new.”

For more insights on innovation, leadership, and taking back control of your technology roadmap, check out the full episode here:

Looking to free up more of your IT budget for innovation? Talk to Origina today.

RSAC 2026 Insights: AI Skepticism, IT Estate Control, and the Risk of Constant Change

Origina — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:30:00 GMT

The RSA Conference 2026 brought together more than 40,000 leaders across risk, security, compliance, and technology, offering a clear view into how organizations are approaching security in an increasingly complex landscape.

Across sessions, one theme stood out: security leaders are moving beyond theory and asking harder questions about execution. Discussions ranged from AI governance and fraud prevention architectures to how CISOs build internal consensus and what a meaningful security assessment should actually deliver. The focus is shifting from frameworks and concepts to outcomes — what works, what doesn’t, and what it takes to operationalize security effectively.

On the expo floor, the dominance of AI was unmistakable. But the tone has evolved. The early excitement has given way to a more measured and, at times, skeptical perspective. Organizations are no longer asking what AI could do; they are asking what it actually delivers. Clear value, defined use cases, and a realistic understanding of risk are now expected.

AI: Notes of Caution

The topic of AI dominated at RSAC, but the tone of the conversation around it has changed. As adoption accelerates, so does the scrutiny. Organizations are looking beyond broad promises and focusing on where AI delivers measurable value — and where it introduces new risk.

Emerging threats are accelerating faster than policy or governance can keep up with. As one forum noted, “Offensive AI is breaching networks and OT systems at machine speed, while policy struggles to keep pace.” The message across sessions was consistent: clear value, defined use cases, and a realistic understanding of risk are now essential.

One forum set out to “cut through the AI noise, reveal where the real potential lies, and explore the exit paths redefining the security market.” While these conversations raised concerns, they also reflected a clear shift toward real outcomes.

Control, Change, and the Cost of Complacency

Conversations with cybersecurity experts, CISOs, and technology leaders brought a number of underlying trends into sharp focus. While much of the discussion centered on AI, a broader issue emerged: many organizations have been too quick to hand over control of critical elements of their IT estates to software OEMs and their timelines. They are now seeing the consequences in security, cost, and their ability to manage change.

Being tied too closely to OEM roadmaps limits their ability to innovate and respond quickly to new challenges. Forced upgrades and unnecessary changes consume resources that could otherwise support strategic initiatives. The financial impact is significant, but the operational impact is often more immediate, disrupting stability and slowing response to emerging threats.

In some cases, this lack of control leaves organizations exposed to emerging threats that OEMs did not anticipate. When vulnerabilities emerge, response timelines are often dictated externally, creating a gap between risk and resolution that is increasingly difficult to manage.

Maintaining Control: Reducing Risk and Managing Change

Control over the IT estate determines how and when change occurs, whether security measures are implemented proactively or in response to external pressure, and whether disruption is introduced unnecessarily.

In many environments, change is not driven by business need, but by vendor timelines that are dictated by upgrade cycles, end-of-support deadlines, and shifting requirements. This introduces complexity, increases operational risk, and diverts resources away from strategic priorities.

When organizations retain control, that dynamic shifts. Change can be aligned to business priorities, security decisions can be made on the organization’s terms, and responses to emerging threats are not constrained by external dependencies.

In an unpredictable landscape, this level of control and adaptability is essential to maintaining security, compliance, and long-term stability.

Smaller Forums: Where the Real Conversations Are Happening

Some of the most valuable insights at RSAC came from smaller, more focused forums. These sessions brought together leaders for candid discussions about the challenges they are actively facing and the concerns shaping their decisions.

A consistent theme across these forums was the reality of managing long-standing, mission-critical systems. Legacy software — often positioned as a problem to eliminate — remains a constant that must be governed effectively. Discussions reinforced the importance of clear upgrade strategies, strong governance, and maintaining control over how these environments evolve.

Other forums focused on building trust and confidence across assessors, internal teams, and third-party developers. These conversations highlighted the growing importance of transparency, alignment, and accountability in modern security programs.

What This Signals for Enterprise Security

RSAC 2026 reinforced a clear shift in how organizations are thinking about security, navigating risk, and meeting regulatory requirements in a rapidly changing environment. The challenge is no longer limited to protecting systems. It extends to managing how those systems evolve over time.

In many cases, the greatest source of disruption is not a single failure, but the cumulative effect of constant, externally driven change. Organizations that can reduce that pressure — taking a more deliberate, controlled approach to their software strategy — will be better positioned to manage risk, maintain stability, and create space for meaningful innovation.

Regain control of your software estate and reduce unnecessary change. Talk to Origina.

How Digital Growth is Impacting the Insurance Industry

Origina — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

The rapid growth of digitalization across all aspects of our life is having an increasing impact, and the insurance industry is just one of the sectors feeling the effects.

Digitalization isn’t just the future of insurance, it’s the present, as shown by the rapid digital growth the industry has seen over the last few years. The increased investment in IT and reliance on the benefits that it brings have had a profound impact on the industry as a whole. It’s estimated that almost $300 billion will be spent on IT by the insurance industry over the next 12 months, with 31% of that going on software alone. While this heavy investment has, of course, meant massive benefits to both insurers and the insured alike, the recent reliance on digital processes has not come without its issues as well.

Reaping the Rewards of Rapid Digital Growth

One of the main advantages that increased digitalization has given to the insurance industry has been improved accessibility. Online claims processes and platforms have meant that many insurers now offer an easier way for the majority of customers to log insurance claims. These online portals not only simplify the process by acting as a one-stop shop for all claims documents to be logged, but have also sped up the process of making a claim. This has addressed two of the biggest concerns that many people have had with insurance claims in the past—simplicity and speed.

The immediate impact this digitalization had on one element of the insurance process quickly led to further investment across other aspects of the industry. Automation has become more and more prevalent throughout the industry. Things like automated fraud detection and process automation have meant less risk for insurers and less resources and time invested in false claims. AI is increasingly being leveraged to help predict customer behavior and to address their needs proactively. The industry has also begun to leverage advanced analytics more in order to better address the data-driven nature of the industry and ensure that it moves with the times.

All of this has meant a smoother, more streamlined insurance process that is available to customers when, where, and how they need it. However, the journey to digitalization has never been without its speed bumps along the way.

Digital modernization is a vital part of your business building for the future, but doing so without the proper scaffolding in place will lead to problems

The Drawback of the Digital Revolution

As with many forward-thinking ventures, digital modernization in the insurance industry relies on you putting a healthy amount of trust in your machines. With so much of the insurance process now online, any bugs or failures in your software could be catastrophic for your customer base and, as such, for your business. Ensuring your systems remain reliably operational and minimizing downtime are more important than ever to protecting your revenue and your reputation.

The other increasing concern the digital age has heralded in has been security. Recent tech advancements, such as AI, have led to more complex and sophisticated cyberattacks that require new levels of security expertise from software support vendors to deal with. This, plus the previously mentioned online claims platforms that has led to an inevitable increase in customer data online, raises the need for reliability within software security to protect customer data at all costs. GDPR is a cornerstone of the insurance industry in the age of the internet, and it means that trust in your software extends to more than just your business— your customers need to trust it too.

Simple, Secure Support with Origina

Digital modernization is a vital part of your business building for the future, but doing so without the proper scaffolding in place will lead to problems. The best approach is to build on the foundation your business already has in place. Origina’s unique approach to technical debt lifecycle management means we can keep your trusted systems going for longer; leading to less downtime, less expensive upgrades, and less potential security risks that inevitably come with such a consistent turnover of software.

The increased reliance on IT in the insurance industry has meant you need software maintenance and support that you can rely on, and Origina’s years of expertise in software support and security can offer you that. We tailor our support to your needs and ensure that you keep control of your own IT roadmap so you can trust your systems to work when and how you need them. So don’t take the risk, get maintenance and support you can rely on by reaching out to Origina.

Digital Sovereignty: The Emperor Has Clothes, But They Cannot Be Washed

Origina — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 11:15:00 GMT

True digital sovereignty needs more than just data residency discussions or local data centres. Digital sovereignty is about control, capability, and the genuine independence to maintain and support your own stack in all dignity, without asking someone else for permission.

By Tom Olislagers
Presales Manager, EMEA & APAC in Enterprise Sales ROW at Origina

It is becoming painfully clear, we in the IT industry have accepted a new reality where our ability to operate is increasingly dictated by the very companies that sold us the equipment. Without realising it, we are told when to upgrade, what to patch, and how much to pay, year after year. This dependency undermines the very foundation of digital sovereignty.

A well-functioning secondary market is an absolute necessity for any organization serious about taking back control of its digital destiny.
The longer I work in the domain of independent software support, the more I recognize that a secondary market is a critical necessity for any true digital sovereignty. I see daily how companies are trapped in their efforts by being completely locked into a technology:

Budgets and time from IT teams are moving from business projects to keeping the lights on. Teams are continuously upgrading for interoperability, end of life or forced patching runs for security.
This continuous change distracts IT departments from contributing to the ever evolving, core business of the company.

The growth in the independent support market shows that more and more companies come to that realisation.

The Common Sense We Forget: An Automotive Analogy

Let’s step outside of IT for a moment. If you buy a new car, you’ll likely have it serviced at the manufacturer’s garage for the first few years, perhaps under a warranty or an all-inclusive insurance plan. But as the car’s value decreases over time, you right-size your insurance and find a trusted, independent garage. This new mechanic offers the right level of service for your needs and helps reduce your maintenance costs. This is perfectly normal, sensible behavior.

Yet, in the IT world, this logic is abandoned. Most people believe that maintenance can only be done by the vendor itself. And this belief persists even as maintenance costs rise year after year, and not by a small margin. The double-digit growth reported by companies on the stock market is largely fueled by this ever-increasing stream of maintenance revenue. It’s the lifeblood of their business.

Where Does The Money Go?

The business model of a software company is starkly different from that of an independent support company. At an independent provider, the majority of revenue is reinvested into the company itself to provide a better support experience for end-users. For a software vendor, however, most of the revenue from stable, mature software, their “cash cows”, is reinvested into developing entirely new products, not the ones you are paying maintenance for.

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix Explained

The BCG Matrix is a framework to analyze a company's product portfolio. It classifies products into four categories:

Question Marks: Products with low market share in a high-growth market. They require significant investment to grow.
Stars: Products with high market share in a high-growth market. They are market leaders but still require investment to keep up with growth.
Cash Cows: Products with high market share in a low-growth market. They are mature, stable, and generate more cash than they consume. This cash is often used to fund other products.
Dogs: Products with low market share in a low-growth market. They typically generate low profits or losses.

Many legacy enterprise software systems are classic Cash Cows. The maintenance fees you pay are milked to fund the vendor's new Question Marks and Stars.

With the rapid advance of artificial intelligence, we can expect more and more software to be released at an ever-faster tempo. This creates a significant problem for CIOs: how do you maintain the legacy software that is still critical to your business processes, but is no longer strategic? The only way to liberate budgets for innovation is to look at independent options. This allows the support experience for your stable systems to go up, while the costs go down. By making no more changes on a stable platform, risks are reduced and the time spent maintaining it is significantly decreased, all while it remains secure under independent support. That time and money can then be reinvested into new platforms and innovation.

Security: The New Feature is a Patch

Security is always a critical topic. As software evolves and exists for 10 years or more, it becomes very mature. As the curves of disruptive innovation from Clayton Christensen’s theory teach us, at a certain moment, software becomes so mature that it serves the needs of most users because it has been incrementally improving over many releases. The product begins to overachieve on the expectations of most of its user base.

At that point, what reason is there for a customer to keep buying new releases? There are not that many new functionalities being added to the mature software because it has become a cash cow, and the company is busy investing its resources into building new kinds of software. This is where security enters the picture, but not in the way you might think. We are seeing a clear trend where security updates are now being sold as the new features. If a simple configuration change can solve a security vulnerability, it is now often wrapped in a non-transparent patch. That patch becomes the reason to stay on the vendor’s flywheel of buying new versions.

I challenge you to a fact-check. Look at the support tickets you have with your software vendors over the last few years. Do you see an evolution in the number of patches being proposed versus simple workarounds or configuration changes? I suspect you will find that vendors are spending less time providing a simple mitigation and are instead pushing patches. This keeps you locked in, and you never really know what’s happening behind the scenes of that patch.

This rigidity is unique to the IT industry. Customers I speak to don’t ask about what new functionality they will miss if they don’t upgrade, they always ask about security. Over the lifecycle of a product, it is the security update that is now being sold as new features were in the past.

This continuous push for new versions also gives rise to a form of e-waste. I experienced this myself. I had a perfectly fine running iPhone, where the value was not in the beautiful hardware, but in the apps that ran on it. I bought new AirPods, and to use them, I was forced to upgrade my iPhone to a new iOS version, which included a “liquid glass” look and feel that added no value for me. My iPhone’s hardware couldn’t cope with the performance needed by these useless features, and it ended up malfunctioning. I had to buy new hardware. After a day or two, the novelty of the new look and feel wore off, and I realized I was just using the exact same apps as before, but I had spent quite a lot of money to fix a problem created by a supposedly valuable software update. This resonates in the enterprise context, where a new software release often increases the performance requirements of the servers it runs on, triggering a whole chain of lifecycle management and new costs.

The Paradox of Progress: From Garages to Golden Cages

It’s a curious thing. As individuals, we grow up striving for independence. As companies, we seek competitive differentiation, which requires control and the freedom to make our own choices. Yet, the IT industry, born from independent thinkers tinkering in garages, is moving in the opposite direction. We are becoming more and more dependent.

This trend mirrors a broader societal issue with debt. The industry-wide shift from perpetual software licenses to subscriptions is often framed as a move to a flexible, “pay-as-you-use” model. It sounds attractive: no over-capacity, just pay for what you use. But the reality is far different.

Perpetual License vs. Subscription Explained.

Perpetual License: You pay a one-time, upfront fee to own the software license forever. You can use the software indefinitely. You typically pay an additional, optional annual fee for maintenance and support.
Subscription: You pay a recurring fee (monthly or yearly) to use the software. You do not own it. If you stop paying, you lose access to the software. Maintenance and support are usually included in the subscription price.

The subscription model is not being applied to things that are truly pay-as-you-use. Enterprise software is often so heavily customized that phasing it out quickly is impossible. In this case, you are not paying as you use, you are trapped. Rowan O'Donoghue aptly describes this as 'support purgatory': locked in, let down, and left behind. Organizations find themselves trapped not by technical limitations, but by contractual and economic ones. The software isn’t broken, the system is. By replacing perpetuals with subscriptions, you are changing what used to be a software asset that you owned into a liability. You cannot phase it out, and you will keep paying.

When we as individuals buy a house with a mortgage, we are laser-focused on the interest rate and securing ownership. This common sense is absent in the IT world. As Matt Ryan puts it, 'because the vendor said so is not a strategy.' Yet many organizations find themselves making abrupt changes at the end of maintenance periods, rushing into new platforms without adequate time for proper evaluation. We enter into subscriptions, which are effectively loans, without sufficient protection against the year-to-year cost increases that vendors can push upon us. This creates another flywheel. IT budgets are not rising at double-digit rates, but the vendor’s expectation is that their market share must. They extract this growth from maintenance and subscription fees. Software costs rise faster than IT budgets, creating a downward pressure on the money available for IT employees and for business-critical projects. Having less capable people in-house only increases the dependence on software vendors, shifting the company further into a “buy over build” mentality.

True Digital Sovereignty: It’s Day Two That Matters

All of these factors are completely incompatible with digital sovereignty. I see many posts on LinkedIn discussing digital sovereignty in terms of data residency, encryption, and sovereign clouds. But a critical aspect is missing. Suppose, in the best-case scenario, the software is controlled and installed by us, running on a server in our own data center that we can power up and down. The final question remains: are we capable of maintaining and supporting that software ourselves?

This is the core of the issue. The conversation needs to move beyond “Day One” (deployment) to “Day Two” (operations). True sovereignty is the ability to independently manage, maintain, and secure your systems throughout their entire lifecycle.

This is why advocacy groups like Free ICT Europe Foundation are so important. Operating in Europe and America, they work to make legislators aware that IT markets are treated completely differently from normal product markets. As Jan Hoogstrate and the Free ICT team have highlighted, cloud-connected products that lose vendor support too often become instant e-waste, forcing unnecessary replacement. Nobody prohibits you from upgrading your car or going to an independent garage. If there is a safety issue with a car, you are alerted through a recall action; you don’t pay a yearly fee for it. We are seeing the first consequences of this advocacy in Europe with legislation like Lot 9, which requires that critical firmware updates for hardware be available for a certain duration. This is a start, but it must be broadened to software. It’s the right thing to do, because the current lack of competition and the dependence on major vendors for support and security is what is creating this unsustainable momentum.

This is not an isolated effort. A wave of EU regulations is systematically dismantling vendor lock-in from multiple angles, creating a powerful legal framework for a true secondary market.

Critical European Regulations Overview

DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) - In Effect

Mandates exit strategies & portability for financial sector ICT, treating vendor lock-in as a regulatory liability.

Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) - Phasing In

Requires manufacturers to provide security updates for the entire lifecycle of digital products, fighting forced obsolescence.

Data Act - Phasing In

Enables data portability and eliminates switching costs/exit fees for cloud services, making it easier to change providers.
Right to Repair Directive - Phasing In
Guarantees access to parts, manuals, and diagnostic data, and prohibits software from blocking independent repair.

Ecodesign Regulation (Lot 9) - In Effect

Mandates firmware availability for servers and storage, creating the legal basis for independent hardware maintenance.

Your Turn: What Does Sovereignty Mean to You?

If we want to get serious about taking back control of our digital sovereignty, there is a huge amount of work to be done. The company I work for, Origina, is seeing massive demand for independent software support, which is why, with the support of Enterprise Ireland, we are adding 350 jobs and seeking partners to help us deliver this capability to companies.

But this is bigger than any single company. I invite you to share your views. How does your organization tackle digital sovereignty? Are you thinking beyond Day One and data location? How dependent are you on your vendors for Day Two operations and keeping your critical systems running?

This article was originally published on LinkedIn.

VMware In Review: 5 Key Learnings To Help Your Business

Origina — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Origina’s VMware journey has continued to lead us to countless impactful insights about the software. See some of the standouts in our VMware in Review blog.

Back in November 2023, Broadcom officially acquired VMware and began to introduce disruptive changes to how things were run. From expensive subscription models to long-term contracts, Broadcom’s VMware reign has been extremely controversial from the off.

However, it led to an opportunity for independent support to step in on the customers behalf. Since Origina took on the challenge of changing the way the industry saw VMware software, our offering has gone from strength to strength. Now a market-leading independent VMware support provider, we wanted to share some of the amazing learnings we’ve seen along our journey.

Broadcom Dropping the Ball

Many of the recent issues that users have faced around VMware support have come as a consequence of Broadcom’s acquisition of the virtualization software giant. Their insistence on migrating everyone over to core-based subscription models on mandatory bundles, such as VMware Cloud Foundation, has meant huge price hikes across the board but also requires additional training and resources invested in getting employees up to speed on the new model.

Worse yet, all this has come during a time when Broadcom’s support quality is seemingly in decline. In essence, VMware customers are getting lower levels of service at a higher cost when choosing to stay with Broadcom. Increasingly, support priority is being given to strategic customers and many new, or ‘lower priority’, customers are being left by the wayside as support is often shipped to brand new partners with brand new engineers. Let’s not even mention Extended Support for older versions of software!

Along with all these issues, many customers are also facing slower response times with Broadcom support and denial of access to critical security patches in an effort to force customers onto newer versions and more expensive support models. The negatives for sticking with Broadcom support continue to stack heavily against the benefits.

Perhaps the conversation needs to shift from replacing the mainframe to restructuring the technical debt that comes with it.

Beware The First Broadcom Renewal

Despite the clear drawbacks with Broadcom’s new support model, there are many businesses who have been willing to eat the increased subscription costs rather than take a chance on support providers they may be less familiar with. However, there are also many hidden costs that have come with Broadcom’s support model after the initial renewals.

Initial subscription support cost increases have been well documented, with some reporting up to 800-1000% increases, but we have seen customers presented with an additional 300% subscription renewal cost increases year on year. Where does it stop?

Add forced migration to an inflexible subscription model, expanded hardware resource demands and costs associated with lower support quality; customers have often been left counting the true costs of support that doesn’t truly consider them. If you’re looking at renewing with Broadcom, be sure you have all the information about the price you will really be paying over the lifetime of the solution.

Keep Your Perpetual Licences

Another key learning we’ve come across is the importance of keeping hold of your perpetual VMware licences. By retaining your perpetual licences you can avoid the dramatic price hikes, bundling and expensive core-based subscriptions you’ll be forced into with Broadcom support. Keeping your trusted perpetual licences will also help you to maintain control over your IT roadmap and reduce your CapEx. Introducing independent software maintenance and support to your VMware environment can help you to achieve this and more.

The second-hand perpetual license market in the EEA offers some very interesting possibilities for VMware customers. Used perpetual licences can be bought at a significant discount to Broadcom’s current pricing, potentially up to 70% less, and can be maintained with Origina expert support. Acquiring or maintaining perpetual licences can not only save you huge amounts in the short-term by avoiding Broadcom’s subscription bundles, but can also help you to maintain predictable long-term budgeting with a trusted, fixed-cost solution that works for you.

One Size No Longer Fits All

Broadcom’s more rigid support model has had a huge impact on customers, in particular small or mid-sized businesses. Broadcom have foregone the previous flexible VMware licensing approach in favour of streamlined, subscription bundles that helps them to drive long-term spend from customers. Essentially, Broadcom’s approach to VMware support means they no longer are interested in tailored support for customers.

The new model has been more interested in customers ‘paying more to get more’. This has understandably led to dissatisfaction among many businesses relying on their VMware environments, particularly smaller businesses who feel they are being forced into costly licences that do not fit with their needs. This has led to many businesses looking to alternatives, such as independent support providers who can deliver tailored, cost saving support and maintenance that puts the customer’s needs first.

It’s Vital to Take Your Time

The current VMware support model from Broadcom has had a focus on forced upgrades and subscription models, which has meant customers pushed into rushed decisions. They even introduced a fee for ‘late renewals’ to help hammer this point home even more. Without the time taken to ensure that any change to your VMware environment is in your business’s best interests, risks are an inevitability. The tried and trusted VMware software you already have in place is often still best in class when compared to alternatives, so there is no reason to look at introducing needless changes just because Broadcom tell you it’s time.

Whether you’re looking to maintain momentum with the systems you trust, or looking to migrate away from them down the line, independent software support can help you by providing the support you need now for as long as you need it. You can avoid needless upgrades and rushed decisions with expert support that’s specifically tailored to your needs.

See What Origina Can Do For You

If you’re considering independent maintenance and support for your VMware needs, then Origina might be the answer you’ve been looking for. Learn more about what our VMware expertise looks like in practice and what it can do for your business with some of our case studies.

Not fully satisfied with your current VMware support? Talk to Origina today.

When Quiet Systems Become the Biggest Security Risks

Origina — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Our Director of Security Services, Ben Lipczynski, engages in expert discussion on cybersecurity, recovery plans, and strategic upgrades on the cybercrime podcast, The CISO Signal

Most cyber incidents don’t start with a new vulnerability. They emerge from systems and software that have been sitting quietly in an environment, often for years. Trusted, unexamined, and largely forgotten.

In a recent episode of the cybercrime podcast the CISO Signal, Origina’s Director of Security Services, Ben Lipczynski, unpacked what the 2020 Accellion breach reveals about cybersecurity blind spots, fear-driven upgrade decisions, and why organizations often don’t realize they’re exposed until it’s already too late.

Silent Threats

Alongside host Jeremy Ladner and tZero Group’s Christopher Russell, Ben discussed governance, damage limitation, and effective recovery plans. The conversation featured key insights around constantly evolving cybersecurity threats and organizational preparedness. Ben explained why you can’t defend what you don’t know and why “fear is a terrible basis for an upgrade strategy.”

A system that never makes noise is a system that no one wants to question- until they have no choice
-CISO Podcast Host, Jeremy Ladner

Cybersecurity Blind Spots

Sophisticated cybercriminals probe an organization’s infrastructure until they identify vulnerabilities, before exploiting them. The Accellion breach demonstrates how organizations can lose sight of areas where they may be exposed through lack of ownership, gaps in governance, and legacy systems. As Ben puts it, “You can’t defend what you don’t know.”

One of the key insights from the discussion is that just because something always has worked, doesn’t mean it always will. Ben provides key recommendations for organizations on assessing their own infrastructure, implementing comprehensive governance, and upgrading systems strategically.

By the time you see the ransom note, it’s too late
-Director of Security Services, Ben Lipczynski

Watch the full episode of the CISO Signal below to hear Ben discuss how blind spots develop in long-running systems, why you shouldn’t rush into upgrade decisions, and what effective governance and recovery planning look like in practice.

Looking to secure your existing systems? Talk to Origina today.

How UK Departments Are Cutting IBM and VMware Costs Without Disruption in 2026

Origina — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Across the U.K., public sector organizations are struggling to get what they need from OEM software support but, increasingly, independent support providers are offering the solution.

Like countless other businesses, the U.K. public sector is heavily reliant on expert software support to keep their systems running smoothly. Untold damage can be done by inopportunely timed downtime or security issues, so it’s vital that these departments can trust their software support provider implicitly. Too often OEM vendor support can lose sight of this and it’s the customer that suffers the consequences.

Carefully curated budgets, long standing reputations and hard-earned trust can all unravel quickly when your software support does not align with goals and operational needs. The pressure associated with the public sector can often lead to departments rushing into needless vendor-driven changes, however, maintaining your existing IT environment can often be the key to avoiding issues and unlocking innovation.

The Importance of Public Sector Support

Expert software support is particularly crucial to the public sector due to the role that they play within society. Whether it be a bank, health department, revenue etc., people rely on these institutions every day so, in turn, they need these institutions to be able to rely on their software and systems to remain consistent.

One of the major concerns any public sector leadership team may face is around security and compliance. Considering the fact that they deal with sensitive public data on a day-to-day basis, they must ensure they have robust security measures in place while also adhering to strict government and international standards. Protecting user data is paramount to how these organizations operate.

Similarly, accountability, audit trails and transparency are vital pieces that software support must provide for any public sector body. There is often a great deal of scrutiny to ensure these organizations demonstrate responsible use of public funds, maximize budgets and adhere to a wide range of regulations. This means software support must provide built-in mechanisms for accountability and audit trails, along with a focus on clear costs and service level agreements (SLA’s).

The fact that they are so frequently heavily public facing, means that organizations such as these also require a great deal of scalability and flexibility from their software support provider. This helps them to deal with fluctuating user numbers across their systems without facing potential issues or downtime. It also means they must consider user experience (UX) and accessibility as part of any vendor assessment they undertake. A vendor who can match their customer-first focus can make a real difference to their customer’s experience.

Whether it be a bank, health department, revenue etc., people rely on these institutions every day so, in turn, they need these institutions to be able to rely on their software and systems to remain consistent.

U.K. Departments No Longer Dependent on OEM Vendors

With all this in mind, countless U.K. departments have begun to identify the OEM vendors as public enemy number one and have started looking elsewhere for software support that serves their needs. While OEM vendors continue to focus their attention on needless, expensive upgrades, EoS pressure and expensive VMware subscription models; Origina has been providing public sector organizations with support that extends the life of their existing environments and saves them on long-term costs.

Independent maintenance and support from Origina can offer you an escape from the cycle of unnecessary upgrades that many U.K. departments find themselves trapped in. By eliminating needless change from your IT department, you can free up money, time and resources that can then be better invested into growth and innovation throughout your organization. More than that, eliminating needless upgrades can also reduce the rising amount of e-waste being produced by dramatically reducing the amount of hardware turnover.

Unnecessary change also means unnecessary risk. By introducing change into your existing environment, you’re also opening up your systems to potential security issues. Origina can help avoid these risks through expert lifecycle management and also through a proactive, defence-in-depth approach to security which can mitigate risk before it leads to bigger issues.

If you’re looking for software maintenance and support that puts your needs first, Origina can offer you assured savings without disruption, compliance and governance expertise, transparency, service quality, risk reduction and a modernization runway that can help fund transformation by freeing up resources and extending the life of stable workloads while you plan migrations or exit strategies. Avoid potential risk and reputational damage by choosing a software support provider that works for you.

Origina Blog

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Take Control of Your SAP Future with Origina. Contact us today or download our SAP Support Overview to learn more.

Introducing OPTAS: Origina’s Proactive Threat Assurance Service

We’re proud to introduce OPTAS, your new security ally. In an increasingly challenging threat landscape, OPTAS helps organizations move from reactive security to proactive control, providing greater visibility and clarity.

OPTAS replaces reactive security with visibility, clarity, and control

The Hidden Cost of Reactive Security

How OPTAS Helps

Why It’s Different

Looking for predictive and proactive cybersecurity for your business? Talk to Origina today.

Reassessing Z Mainframes: Optimization and Support

Despite all the talk about the cloud, optimizing these workhorse systems can result in value-added support with an eye toward innovation.

Flipping the Script

Perhaps the conversation needs to shift from replacing the mainframe to restructuring the technical debt that comes with it.

Address the Pain Points

Challenging the Model: Innovation, Disruption, and Taking Back Control

We recently released the premiere episode of our podcast, 'Challenging the Model: Where Academic Thinking Meets Real World Leadership.'

Defined By Disruption

Real Innovation

This is the challenge for the industry, they have decided that the only way is something new and it’s got to be technology orientated and I think what we have to do is encourage a wider definition of innovation. -Tomás O'Leary

New Thinking

Restoring the Balance of Power

For more insights on innovation, leadership, and taking back control of your technology roadmap, check out the full episode here:

Looking to free up more of your IT budget for innovation? Talk to Origina today.

RSAC 2026 Insights: AI Skepticism, IT Estate Control, and the Risk of Constant Change

The RSA Conference 2026 brought together more than 40,000 leaders across risk, security, compliance, and technology, offering a clear view into how organizations are approaching security in an increasingly complex landscape.

AI: Notes of Caution

Control, Change, and the Cost of Complacency

Maintaining Control: Reducing Risk and Managing Change

Smaller Forums: Where the Real Conversations Are Happening

What This Signals for Enterprise Security

Regain control of your software estate and reduce unnecessary change. Talk to Origina.

How Digital Growth is Impacting the Insurance Industry

The rapid growth of digitalization across all aspects of our life is having an increasing impact, and the insurance industry is just one of the sectors feeling the effects.

Reaping the Rewards of Rapid Digital Growth

Digital modernization is a vital part of your business building for the future, but doing so without the proper scaffolding in place will lead to problems

The Drawback of the Digital Revolution

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Digital Sovereignty: The Emperor Has Clothes, But They Cannot Be Washed

The Common Sense We Forget: An Automotive Analogy

Where Does The Money Go?

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix Explained

Security: The New Feature is a Patch

The Paradox of Progress: From Garages to Golden Cages

True Digital Sovereignty: It’s Day Two That Matters

Critical European Regulations Overview

Your Turn: What Does Sovereignty Mean to You?

VMware In Review: 5 Key Learnings To Help Your Business

Origina’s VMware journey has continued to lead us to countless impactful insights about the software. See some of the standouts in our VMware in Review blog.

Broadcom Dropping the Ball

Perhaps the conversation needs to shift from replacing the mainframe to restructuring the technical debt that comes with it.

Beware The First Broadcom Renewal

Keep Your Perpetual Licences

One Size No Longer Fits All

It’s Vital to Take Your Time

See What Origina Can Do For You

Not fully satisfied with your current VMware support? Talk to Origina today.

When Quiet Systems Become the Biggest Security Risks

Our Director of Security Services, Ben Lipczynski, engages in expert discussion on cybersecurity, recovery plans, and strategic upgrades on the cybercrime podcast, The CISO Signal

Silent Threats

A system that never makes noise is a system that no one wants to question- until they have no choice-CISO Podcast Host, Jeremy Ladner

Cybersecurity Blind Spots

By the time you see the ransom note, it’s too late-Director of Security Services, Ben Lipczynski

Looking to secure your existing systems? Talk to Origina today.

How UK Departments Are Cutting IBM and VMware Costs Without Disruption in 2026

Across the U.K., public sector organizations are struggling to get what they need from OEM software support but, increasingly, independent support providers are offering the solution.

The Importance of Public Sector Support

Whether it be a bank, health department, revenue etc., people rely on these institutions every day so, in turn, they need these institutions to be able to rely on their software and systems to remain consistent.

U.K. Departments No Longer Dependent on OEM Vendors

This is the challenge for the industry, they have decided that the only way is something new and it’s got to be technology orientated and I think what we have to do is encourage a wider definition of innovation.

-Tomás O'Leary

A system that never makes noise is a system that no one wants to question- until they have no choice
-CISO Podcast Host, Jeremy Ladner

By the time you see the ransom note, it’s too late
-Director of Security Services, Ben Lipczynski