IT expense management (ITEM) is not just another buzzword but a critical practice to foster efficiency in financial governance at a time when companies are pressured to innovate at the speed of rapidly evolving technologies. Ready to step up the management of your IT expenses? ZK Research offers this buyer’s guide helping IT and financial leaders gain a clearer perspective on their IT spending while also driving financial productivity, cost control, and continuity in their critical technology services.
Download the ITEM Buyer’s Guide today to learn:
- How to leverage ITEM solutions to measure ROI on your tech investments
- Which AI tools are best for automating savings and increasing financial efficiency
- A checklist of advanced capabilities simplifying IT expense management
The Need for IT Expense Management Software
As ZK Research explains, the demand for digital innovation is soaring, but the financial implications of investing in more technology often go overlooked. Years of digital transformation have left organizations grappling with cloud-related spending challenges and technical debt. As a result, reducing IT waste is now an executive-level priority alongside top IT imperatives like security and digital transformation.
Cloud expenditure is of particular concern.
Cloud infrastructure and software are often ad hoc deployments with little financial oversight. Add on the fact that inflation is driving prices up and Generative AI triggers more cloud spending, and it’s easy to see why Gartner estimates that by 2025 cloud services will consume over 50% of IT budgets. Cloud costs are growing increasingly unpredictable.
But it’s not just the cloud complicating financial governance.
IT teams also struggle with an increasing number of mobile devices and data services to oversee. Additionally, network modernization efforts and remote work models introduce more internet services to manage and cost compare.
Tackling it means taking a disciplined approach.
Elements of Effective IT Expense Management (ITEM)
Effective IT expense management should encompass a range of capabilities and responsibilities, including:
- Inventory Management: Cataloging IT services, assets, vendors, contracts, and costs
- Vendor and Contract Management: Keeping track of contract renewals, procurement cycles, and service consumption habits
- Invoice Management: Automating invoice processing, approval workflows, and reconciliation against contracts to identify billing errors
- Asset Management: Managing physical and virtual assets, including mobile devices and the administration of cloud software or SaaS licenses
- Cost Governance: Establishing spending thresholds, producing alerts, and preventing cost overruns
- Cost Optimization: Reducing costs and wasted IT resources
- Contract Rate Optimization: Reducing contractual service costs by comparing current expenses against market-leading prices
- Service Usage Optimization: Evaluating resource utilization, identifying waste, and reallocating unused resources to better use what you already pay for and avoid unnecessary IT costs
Build or Buy? IT Expense Management Solutions
There are many ways to manage IT expenses, including working with an ITEM software and services provider, developing your own home-grown solution or building on top of FinOps products — which are tools focused solely on cloud spending. As the buyer’s guide explains, careful consideration should be made before deciding which approach is best for your company.
ITEM solutions can jumpstart your program, because they offer a systematic approach to tackle challenges in financial oversight. Software and managed services are helpful in:
- Gaining new insights into spending trends and IT waste in the form of redundant, overbuilt, and unused resources
- Driving out inefficiencies in invoice management and cost governance processes
- Evaluating the return on investment (ROI) on tech purchases, ensuring sustained, resilient digital innovation and business growth
- Finding funds within the existing IT budget and providing financial room for new investments in GenAI, additional cloud services, and network modernization
ZK Research highlights two must-have features when it comes to evaluating ROI on your tech investments and using AI to automate cost savings and financial management. Plus, you won’t want to miss the 10-point checklist that helps decision makers compare ITEM solutions.
Download your free copy of the ITEM Buyer’s Guide
Check out the ITEM buyer’s checklist