Four Tactics to Regain Control Over IT Spending in 2026

CFOs are feeling increased pressure from their CEOs and boards to optimise costs, particularly within the compressed annual budgeting cycle, making cost optimization  a major theme at the 2026 A/NZ Gartner Finance Symposium in March. One significant area where scrutiny is likely to reveal efficiencies is functional software as well as corporate IT spending, and four tactics can help CFOs find cost savings here.

While overall IT spending growth was forecasted by CIOs to slow in 2025, costs continue to rise. Gartner research shows that corporate IT spending outpaced inflation and employee growth from 2020 to 2024 (see Figure 1), making it a significant driver of general and administrative expense growth in recent times.

Unmanaged growth in software, AI, and SaaS subscriptions, often obscured by financial simplification such as cost center aggregation and expanded delegation of spend authority, can perpetuate license and subscription costs, driving spend inefficiency and hindering IT cost optimization efforts. Compounding this challenge is the proliferation of business-led technology purchases, such as cloud and AI tools acquired without central IT oversight. Gartner data reveals that 14% of traditional IT spend occurs beyond the formal CIO budget, with even higher figures in federated organizations. Furthermore, agile IT workstreams without clear governance may foster speed and innovation but can also lead to fragmented software buying and underutilized licenses.

The result? Duplication of IT spending where business units independently procure software, cloud services, hardware, consulting, and analytics tools, outside of central IT oversight, leading to fragmented purchasing, redundant capabilities, and missed opportunities for scale.

Additionally, software asset management (SAM) and IT financial management (ITFM) tools offer potential to unlock hidden savings, as they are essential for reconciling software utilization, entitlements, and financial records, providing transparency needed to identify redundant spend. This in turn can identify overlooked vendor consolidation opportunities. Consolidating software vendors and rationalizing licenses can unlock substantial cost savings, streamline management, and improve negotiation leverage.

To reclaim control and oversight over IT spending, CFOs must strengthen their partnership with CIOs around four tactics (see Figure 2) to restore granular governance over spending, expose hidden software duplication, and champion IT cost allocation and chargebacks.

1. Visibility

CFOs should encourage a move beyond the traditional chart of accounts by implementing multidimensional reporting structures that capture IT spend across all relevant categories. Each software purchase should be tagged with critical attributes, such as software type (SaaS, AI subscriptions, cloud platforms), vendor opportunities for volume discounts and contract consolidation, and business purpose, so every dollar spent is linked to the process or department it supports. The significant share of IT spending outside the CIOs budget (14%) validates the need for granular visibility to identify fragmented purchasing and redundant capabilities.

2. Control

CFOs can establish a robust IT spend delegation matrix to balance agility with governance. While business units are often best positioned to identify solutions that drive innovation, decentralized spending without clear thresholds and accountability can result in fragmented portfolios and increased shadow IT risks. To prevent these issues, implement tiered approval models based on budget status and spend thresholds (e.g., $10,000, $100,000, $1 million for small, midsize, and large enterprises). Reduce delegation levels for software purchases, which may be individually small but collectively significant. Annually review and update delegation thresholds in partnership with IT and finance leaders to ensure ongoing alignment with organizational priorities.

3. Utilisation

SAM and ITFM tools can be used to reconcile current software utilisation with entitlements and financial records. These technologies automate the mapping of expenditures to standardized categories, eliminating blind spots and identifying duplicate or redundant software spend. Gartner experts recommend CIOs use existing SAM and ITFM tools for thorough reviews of software assets and costs. For organizations without these tools, conduct manual utilization analysis through internal surveys or vendor-provided reports, acknowledging these methods are less accurate and more time-consuming.

4. Optimisation

Robust spend analytics provide deep visibility into usage patterns, enabling CFOs and CIOs to negotiate enterprise agreements that unlock significant discounts and service enhancements. Use detailed cost checklists during the RFP process, explore reserved cloud instances and third-party support, and regularly review supplier performance to rationalize spend and eliminate duplication or waste. Restoring transparency and control over IT investments is essential for realizing immediate cost savings and driving long-term strategic value.

CFOs can begin the process of recognizing and realizing optimised costs right away.

Three steps to getting started in the next 20-60 days are:

1. Engage with FP&A and CIO to define software types, vendor lists, and organizational outcomes for tagging and multidimensional reporting.
2. Review current software delegation frameworks and collaborate with CIOs to maximize the use of ITFM and SAM tools.
3. Prepare to re-negotiate software license pricing with critical suppliers and rationalise spend.

Restoring robust governance and leveraging data-driven insights will enable organizations to eliminate duplication, optimise vendor relationships, and ensure every dollar spent on digital tools delivers both immediate efficiency and long-term strategic value.

By strengthening the CFO-CIO partnership and implementing these four tactics, organizations can align IT spending with the highest-value outcomes, without stifling the digital capabilities essential for future competitiveness.

Author

Vaughan D Archer is a Senior Director, Analyst in Gartner’s Finance Practice

Vaughan has over a decade experience working with companies to design and implement strategies to improve their profitability and top line growth. He works with Gartner clients across the entirety of the efficient growth life cycle including, investment evaluation, budgeting, forecasting, cost management and benefits realization tracking. He also helps clients prepare their teams for the future by advising on how identify and develop the skills that impact business performance.