Four-week Cost Optimization Initiative
Vendor-by-vendor analysis of what you pay, what you use, and where overlap or low utilization is hiding. In four weeks the Initiative produces a Technology P&L for in-scope spend, a sized and ranked savings opportunity map, and a renewal calendar. Our design target is to identify savings of 15 to 25 percent of in-scope technology spend within twelve months. The figure for your company is sized from your contracts, utilization, and renewal calendar. We identify; you execute.
Who this is for
A defensible map of where your technology spend is and is not earning its keep.
CFO
You want a Technology P&L by function with utilization data. Usable in board materials and renewal decisions.
PE operating partner
You need a savings thesis, sized from in-scope spend and documented, before the next QBR or value-creation review.
CIO
You inherited SaaS sprawl and need an outside read before committing to renewals or terminations.
CEO
You suspect there are meaningful savings in IT spend but cannot prove it.
Scope
What this Initiative delivers, and what it does not.
Scope is fixed at signing. Items marked Program are available in the Technology Operating Partner Program. The Initiative alone does not include them. Items tagged with an outside source require a separate specialty engagement.
In scope
- Vendor inventory intake (contracts, invoices, owner mapping)
- Technology P&L by function for in-scope spend (vendor, licensing, and managed-service spend). Internal IT labor is not included.
- License utilization analysis for Microsoft 365, Azure, and other tenants where read-only access is granted
- Overlap analysis (tools doing the same job, redundant point solutions)
- Renewal calendar with a negotiating-position note per vendor
- Savings opportunity map, prioritized by effort and dollar magnitude
- Per-vendor negotiation brief (renewal date, alternatives, removal vs. renegotiation)
Out of scope
- Negotiating contracts on your behalfProgram
- Terminating vendor agreements on your behalfProgram
- Vendor selection or RFP execution for replacementsProgram
- Implementing consolidation (migration, training, change management)Program
- Audit of vendor invoices for billing errorsForensic engagement
Inputs
What we need from you
Provided at kickoff. Missing inputs delay the Initiative and do not change scope.
- List of technology vendors with annual spend and the function each supports
- Recent invoices and current contracts for top vendors by spend
- Read-only access to Microsoft 365 / Azure admin center for license-utilization data
- Up to three stakeholder interviews (CFO or controller, IT lead, procurement lead)
Timeline
Week by week
Status updates throughout. A mid-point check confirms direction before the deliverable lands.
Week 1
Intake and utilization scans
Vendor inventory, contract collection, access setup. Microsoft 365 and Azure license utilization analysis, last-login patterns, dormant accounts.
Week 2
Overlap, sizing, mid-point check
Vendor portfolio organized by category; overlap identified. Each opportunity sized in dollar terms with effort and risk markers. Mid-point direction check with your CFO.
Week 3
Vendor brief drafting
Per-vendor brief keyed to renewal calendar. Technology P&L and savings map assembled from the sized opportunities.
Week 4
Review and handoff
Technology P&L, savings map, and vendor briefs finalized and delivered with walkthrough.
Output
What you walk away with
- Technology P&L by function for in-scope spend (internal IT labor not included)
- Savings opportunity map, prioritized by dollar magnitude and effort
- Renewal calendar with negotiating notes
- Per-vendor negotiation brief with alternatives identified
- Walkthrough call
Limits
What this Initiative does not cover
Savings opportunity sizing is based on your contracts, utilization data, and published pricing for comparable tools. Actual realized savings depend on your execution: negotiation outcomes, internal change management, and replacement-tool integration. We do not guarantee a savings percentage. We do not negotiate, terminate, or implement on your behalf.
If you are a portfolio company
How the work calibrates to the PE-backed seat.
If your company is PE-backed, four things shape how the Initiative is timed and sequenced.
- Board reporting cycle. Output is sized to land before the next quarterly board read.
- Exit window timing. Decisions made 12 to 24 months before exit can affect the bid. Where applicable, findings are tagged with the exit-window timeline they affect.
- Add-on integration tempo. Findings that relate to acquisition integrations are listed separately so the deal team can price them in or sequence the integration around them.
- Cost room by hold stage. Recommendations take account of where the portco sits in the hold. A company in early hold has more room to change cost than one 12 months from exit.
Related
Initiatives that pair with this one
FAQ
Questions buyers ask first
How much can we save through vendor consolidation?
It depends on your contracts, utilization, and renewal calendar. Our design target is to identify savings of 15 to 25 percent of in-scope technology spend within twelve months. Common sources of savings are duplicate tools the business never inventoried, auto-renewing contracts at last year's rate, and seats or capacity that are paid for and unused. In four weeks the Cost Optimization Initiative produces a sized, ranked opportunity map with named contracts and owners, and a renewal calendar. Savings are realized only when your team acts.
How should we think about IT spend as a percentage of revenue?
IT spend as a share of revenue varies by industry, by company size, and by how IT spend is defined, so a single benchmark can mislead. The percentage is a starting point. What matters is what the spend buys. Preside reports IT spend against revenue, against headcount, and against the outcomes it funds, so the board can see where the money goes and decide what to do with it.
How many SaaS apps does a company typically run?
Estimates vary widely by methodology, and the published figure below is not specific to mid-market companies. BetterCloud's 2025 State of SaaS report surveyed 568 US IT professionals at companies with 75 or more employees in February 2025 and reports an average of 106 SaaS apps. Where leadership can name only a fraction of the tools in use, the gap is often shadow SaaS that came in through individual cards, departmental free trials that converted, and tools acquired through M&A and never decommissioned. The Cost Optimization Initiative builds the vendor inventory from invoices, contracts, and tenant data in the first two weeks and ranks it by spend, overlap, and business owner.
For your role
Where this Initiative fits into the wider Preside view
Inside the broader program
When the Initiative becomes the standing engagement
This Initiative is a one-time fixed-price engagement. If it helps, the Technology Operating Partner Program can re-baseline the savings and renewal calendar each quarter, at one of four Program levels.
Ready to scope this
Four-week Cost Optimization Initiative. Fixed scope.
Tell us your situation in a few lines. We reply within one business day to confirm the Initiative or suggest a better fit.
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