IT spending (particularly IT spending on non-value creating initiatives) is often seen as a cost that can't be recovered, but there are opportunities to get some of it back from suppliers, vendors and customers, suggests management consultant Matt Podowitz.

Possible opportunities to recapture costs from suppliers and vendors include rebates for early payment and non-performance penalties, Podowitz writes in a post at CIOUpdate. There could be telecom services used by suppliers or customers, which could be covered in supply or sales agreements. Another possibility can be found in R&D tax credits for internal-use software development.

The challenge for IT executives is in figuring out how to exploit these kinds of opportunities, Podowitz writes. If you are leery of playing hardball with suppliers or vendors, you could ask the contract manager or vendor management group in your organization (if you have them) to get involved--any money they help recover will only reflect positively on them. 

IT executives can also call on the folks in the accounting or finance departments to make sure that each business unit is paying what it owes when there is chargeback or expense allocation structure, and this can be a mutually beneficial arrangement. "By enlisting their assistance, IT executives will gain a valuable ally in both identifying and collecting potentially recoverable IT spending," he writes. "Those responsible for allocation will be able to take credit for every dollar that becomes a divisional or departmental expense rather than a corporate one."

For more:
- see Matt Podowitz' post at CIOUpdate

Related Article:
Analysts forecast IT spending growth