Ready to jumpstart your IT cost optimization? Here’s how.

Forward-thinking companies aren’t slowing down innovation despite shrinking IT budgets. Here are a few ways to start the cost optimization process and get your organization on the right track.

We all know there’s a lot of waste in IT. Almost every organization has excess somewhere that could be streamlined and made more efficient.

And in today’s business climate, where 96% of CEOs are reducing costs across the board this year, IT leaders are facing increased pressure to do more with less.

“Businesses invest in technology and tools they don’t need just because that is what is trending,” according to “Important Tips About IT Cost Optimization” on ProCoders.tech. “But the aim of every investment is profit-making, and you want to ensure that your IT infrastructure is delivering value commensurate to your investment.”

But it’s not merely about cutting the chaff. To be successful, companies need a long-term, sustainable plan.

Cost Optimization vs. Cost Cutting

In IT, both cost cutting and cost optimization play a role—but they’re not the same thing. Cost cutting usually targets immediate reductions in spend, which may ease short-term budget pressures but often needs to be repeated whenever new increases hit.

Cost optimization, by contrast, takes a more strategic view. It’s about aligning IT spend with business priorities, reducing waste, and improving efficiency in ways that are sustainable over time. Cost cutting can be part of the process, but true optimization focuses on creating long-term value rather than one-off savings.

Here are three practical ways to jumpstart your IT cost optimization plan.

Step 1: Optimize licensing

By reviewing and optimizing software licenses, businesses can avoid unnecessary costs and reduce risk. IBM licensing metrics—such as number of users, usage levels, or installations—change regularly, and renewing without checking can create compliance issues or even trigger an audit. Proactively managing entitlements ensures budgets are used effectively while protecting against audit exposure.

Step 2: Lift and shift to the cloud

Cloud platforms bring agility and efficiency, making them a strong option for workloads that benefit from scalability and faster deployment. Gartner projects that by 2025, over 95% of new digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms, up from 2021. A well-planned lift-and-shift approach can reduce the burden of resource management and align infrastructure costs more closely with business needs.

Step 3: Try a third-party software maintenance provider

Customized third-party software maintenance (TPSM) can extend the lifecycle of IBM products, helping enterprises protect existing software investments and avoid unnecessary vendor-driven change. Gartner calls it a “quick win,” noting that engaging a TPSM provider helps organizations control costs, avoid unnecessary upgrades, and redirect resources toward innovation.

Want to learn more?

Written for IT stakeholders, “Budgeting in Turbulent Times: a guide to cost optimization” tackles the ever-growing friction between software spending and company growth and offers practical solutions that can put your company well on the road toward digital transformation.

Download your free copy of “Budgeting in Turbulent Times: a guide to cost optimization” today.