In the all-too-often chaotic world of managing an IT department, the CIO and the IT team can be torn between managing daily operations, driving innovation, and monitoring the budget. When we are so focused on our seemingly endless to-do list, adding just one more task can be overwhelming – even if that task is in our best interest.

IT Financial Management is more than a vitamin, an antibiotic, or a painkiller – it’s a comprehensive fitness plan for your organisation. As with any effective fitness program, it requires a daily commitment to making healthy decisions – at least until your IT fitness improves and your enterprise is getting the best return from the IT spend.

Monitor these five IT financial metrics to get your IT finances back on track:

1. Financial Integration

With personal health care you need to monitor heart rate, cholesterol, body mass index, muscle to fat ratio among others – this data can be analysed to determine overall fitness levels. The same type of holistic approach is essential to a successful ITFM strategy – your IT team need to consider a wide range of data from across the organisation. With purpose-built Intelligent ITFM software, you can review analytics on all aspects of your IT investments. When you are equipped with relevant data, you can make more informed decisions about your enterprise IT financial fitness.

2. Activity and Capacity Reporting

Your fitness app of choice may give you reminders throughout the day to take more steps, watch your calorie intake, or drink more water. An Intelligent ITFM software solution will provide reports and reminders that allow you to track budgeted resources, external costs, indirect costs to activities performed and capacity generated. Hold yourself accountable with accurate reports and forecasts and make the changes needed to up that fitness level.

3. Service Catalogue

In order to commit to any fitness program, you need to be able to align your plans, goals, and outcomes and measure them against your program results. With a comprehensive service catalogue you can see the real return on your investments, track your progress, celebrate your milestones, and fine-tune your training program as necessary. You will know where you are on the road to IT Financial fitness.

4. Usage and Demand

Many of us have one specific aspect of our health that we would like to improve, like our endurance, weight, flexibility, or core strength. Wouldn’t it be great if we could see a complete picture of our health and pinpoint exactly which areas need more attention? With an ITFM software solution, you gain valuable insight into which specific departments are driving your spend, or which systems are costing too much. Then you can identify savings and overspend, giving you powerful clarity to make agile intelligent decisions.

5. Contract Management

Remember that overpriced gym membership you signed up for three years ago but don’t really use? You should probably cancel that and find a more affordable option, one that makes it easy to utilise. With contract management functionality, ITFM software will identify any agreements that are no longer serving your bottom line. These can be decommissioned for bottom-line savings and those funds redirected to value-adding projects and innovations.

Investing in your IT financial fitness is a decision that has the potential to transform your business. Your organisation will soon become more agile, efficient, and nimble than you ever thought possible.

Time to get started with your IT financial management fitness plan? Speak to our team, see ClearCost in action.