The demand for digital innovation is insatiable. In fact, technology defines today’s competitive advantages. But all too often, IT emphasizes those new apps and devices without considering the financial implications. Investments in technology are in a class of their own when it comes to wast- ing money and time. They’re inherently wasteful—and they require constant financial oversight and realignment as business needs change and new market opportunities emerge.
If you aren’t actively examining your tech portfolio to ensure the choices you made a few months or years ago still make sense, you’re undermining the financial sustainability of your own IT innova- tion. Here are a few realities to consider:
Cost savings trump everything but security. For the past five years, improving the customer experience and accelerating innovation have outrivaled all other business initiatives. That changed in 2023 as uncertain macro and other geopoliti- cal issues caused companies to rethink their spending. Now, reducing costs is the number-two challenge businesses deal with today, trailing only security
Those cloud investments you authorized a few years ago are spinning out of control. That dynamic scaling ability you counted on when traffic spiked no longer keeps costs predictable, with monthly invoices coming in nonstop and often consuming more than 50% of IT budgets. In addition, GenAI will add to the issue because it will trigger even more cloud spending. As the underlying enabler, cloud infrastructure gives GenAI the compute power it needs. But those hidden cloud costs can create financial sustainability risks that can threaten the durability of AI-based innovation.
Finding funding from within is often the only way to make room in your budget for new initiatives such as GenAI, additional cloud investments, or capitalizing on the savings opportunities presented by network modernization, SD-WAN, and 5G.
If you want to do all of that, you’ll need an IT expense management (ITEM) practice. It might not be at the very top of your priority list, but it’s absolutely critical—especially as whiz-bang tech sweeps us off our feet. Cost management and optimization work as a detox by tackling tech debt and releasing the tight grip of digital dependency.
In this report, we’ll examine the components of ITEM, ways to navigate ROI barriers, and features that automate savings. Finally, we’ll offer a checklist you can use as you consider ITEM solutions.
