In the last several blogs, we’ve explored the idea of cost optimization and why it’s important, and then seen how ServiceNow can support the analysis of technology investments to identify where opportunities to optimize costs exist, without compromising current or planned business capabilities. But while accurate and complete analysis is essential, it doesn’t deliver the cost reductions that organizations need. That only happens when the analysis results in investments that are executed effectively and efficiently to achieve the required outcomes.
That is where our Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) excels. It provides a single solution for managing all investments from inception to business benefit validation. Proposed technology investments aimed at cost optimization are reviewed and approved alongside all other proposed initiatives and are maintained through the same roadmap. When approved and funded they are scheduled and resourced and then executed with all stakeholders able to monitor progress in a context that makes sense for them.
Work teams are able to operate using whatever approach works best for them with agile, traditional and hybrid approaches all supported by SPM and the ability to consolidate each of those methods into a single picture of performance. Similarly, work can be structured as a project, program, epic, product or anything else based on the needs of the people doing the work with total transparency for stakeholders.
All of this allows IT leaders to not only monitor the progress that their technical teams are making in executing the work that needs to be done to refresh, retire or replace an asset, but it also allows them to validate that the costs being incurred are in line with expectations, ensuring that cost optimization is being achieved. At the same time, standard templates for similar activities helps ensure that all such projects are executed in line with best practices, optimizing delivery performance.
Business leaders are able to use different views and contexts of the same data to monitor the contribution that these technology initiatives are making to the organization’s bottom line. This allows them to not only see when cost optimization is being achieved from technology investments, but also when those savings are available to reinvest in other critical initiatives.
This brings us back to where we started, with the organization’s need to deliver cost optimization in order to reduce risk in the current turbulent times, while still allowing them to pursue critical innovations for their customers. With ServiceNow’s suite of products organizations can manage and analyze data, make investment decisions, prioritize and deliver work, and validate outcomes across the entire enterprise. No more uncertainty, no more silos. Check out the recently released podcast covering executing for cost savings to learn more.
