There’s a lot of unused software sitting within the IT infrastructures of global organizations, so much so that it constitutes about $30 billion in “waste” for U.S. businesses alone, according to 1E, a London-based software lifecycle automation vendor.

A report by 1E, “The Real Cost of Unused Software,” suggests that 37 percent of all business software – on a global average and within the United States – is unused, or being wasted. The report was based on a four-year-long study of more than 1,800 software titles deployed on 3.6 million desktops in 129 enterprises, spread across 14 industries.

How much is $30 billion? Here are three data points to help you put that amount in perspective:

•    It’s slightly less than the profits reported by Exxon Mobil – No. 2 on this year’s Fortune 500 – in 2014 ($32.5 billion).

•    Slightly more than the Louisiana state budget ($29.1 billion).

•    More than what it cost to build the last six commissioned U.S. aircraft carriers (about $29 billion).

The following six slides address the problem and what solution providers can do to help their clients gain more control over their software assets.