If IT Only Saves Money, It Never Makes Any.

As we close out another fiscal year, most organizations are deep in the annual ritual of reconciling budgets and planning for what’s next. For CIOs and technology leaders, this activity goes well beyond balancing numbers; it’s about making intentional choices that shape how the business grows, innovates, and delivers value in the year ahead.

Budget season can feel tactical, but it’s actually one of the most strategic times of the year. The conversations we have right now about spend, priorities, and trade-offs define whether enterprise technology is viewed as a cost center or a driver of enterprise performance.

Four Keys to Shift the Focus From Cost Cutting to Cost Optimization

Many organizations are under tremendous cost pressure and, at the same time, need to use technology more efficiently to grow their business.  As a CIO, it’s easy to fall into “what can we cut?” mode this time of year, especially if that is what your CFO is requesting. The better question is: “Where can we optimize, and where should we reinvest?”

Not all costs are created equal. Reducing low-value spend creates room for automation, AI, and customer-facing capabilities that move the business forward.

In my experience, when the technology team shows up with a thoughtful plan to rationalize spend and fund transformation, we earn a stronger voice at the strategy table.  We need to have a plan before the CFO asks for a cost reduction.

#1: Use Data to Tell the Value Story

Transparency builds trust. CIOs who can clearly show total cost of ownership, utilization, and outcomes by business capability change the tone of the conversation with finance and the C-suite.

A simple dashboard connecting dollars to business impact reframes technology from a collection of projects to a portfolio of value. That’s where real influence starts.

#2: Rationalize Costs, Licenses, and Shadow Spend

If you’re looking for quick and tangible value, start with license and application rationalization.

The reality is that a significant portion of technology spend doesn’t sit in enterprise technology at all — it sits in the lines of business, often in the form of duplicative SaaS tools, lightly used platforms, point solutions purchased on credit cards, or systems designed to solve a one-off need that no longer exists.

You may not have visibility into all of these tools, yet they drive real spend, real risk, and real complexity.

A disciplined year-end review should include:

• A full inventory of enterprise-wide tools — including LOB-owned applications

• Usage and adoption analysis

• Identification of overlapping functionality

• Recommendations to consolidate, right-size, or retire

Most organizations free up 10–20% of spend simply by addressing what’s hiding outside of IT’s line of sight. The payoff goes beyond dollars: fewer systems, fewer integrations, fewer vulnerabilities, and a much cleaner operating environment.

#3. Partner Beyond Enterprise Technology

Some of the biggest value opportunities come from true cross-functional partnership. Finance, HR, operations, and business unit leaders all have their own view of where work slows down, where duplicative tools exist, and where modernization is overdue.

When cost optimization becomes a shared enterprise goal instead of a technology-driven one, the conversations shift. Technology is no longer the team saying “no” — we become the team enabling scale, simplification, and smarter investment.

#4. Protect a Slice for Innovation

Even in a tight budget environment, be sure to reserve intentional funding for innovation. Whether it’s a 10-70-20 or 80-15-5 model, make space for emerging tech pilots, automation, or AI experiments.

These small bets often yield the insights that drive next year’s strategy — and they keep your team energized, curious, and future-focused.

The CIO as the Chief Optimization Officer

Today’s CIO isn’t just managing systems — we’re optimizing how the business operates. Fiscal year-end is a prime moment to reinforce this leadership shift.

Yes, close the books. Yes, tighten the budget. But, more importantly, tell the story of where technology can unlock value, efficiency, and growth in the year ahead.

AnchorPoint Perspective

At AnchorPoint, we advise and coach CIOs through the entire fiscal year-end planning process — helping them navigate the complexity of cost optimization while strengthening their strategic influence inside the organization.

Our role is to act as a thought partner, sounding board, and strategic guide as CIOs balance operational demands with transformation ambitions. We help leaders:

• Bring transparency to IT and LOB spending

• Identify duplicative or underutilized systems

• Build a rationalization roadmap that the business will support

• Strengthen cross-functional alignment and communication

• Reinvest savings into innovation, automation, and AI enablement

CIOs don’t need another report — they need a trusted partner who understands the pressures of the role and can help them make confident, enterprise-aligned decisions. That’s the work we do at AnchorPoint: coaching leaders to optimize smarter, influence more effectively, and enter the next fiscal year with clarity and momentum.