Draft for Tamir's review. Not published.
Map the cost first
List what you pay for each system: licences, hosting, support, and the people who run it and work around it. Then match each cost to the business process it serves.
Look for the gaps. Systems nobody owns, tools that do the same job, and manual steps between systems are common sources of cost.
Fix the systems, or change how you work
If the cost sits in licences and upkeep for systems that still fit, work on the systems: consolidate, renegotiate or retire them. If it sits in workarounds, change the process first. A new system on top of the same process tends to repeat the same costs.
Usage-based services need their own look. Model APIs, for example, bill per million input and output tokens, and output costs several times input (source: Anthropic pricing page).
Where to start
Start with the change that is cheapest to reverse and easiest to measure. It gives you evidence before larger commitments.
Asking me is free. You get my initial view and the question I think matters most. A full review runs under a short agreement, and the first one includes a no-value, no-fee clause.
What to check before you decide
- List the full yearly cost of each system, including the people who run it and work around it.
- Match each system to the business process it serves, and mark systems with no clear owner.
- Find tools that do the same job, and decide which one stays.
- Ask staff where they re-enter data or export to spreadsheets, and how much time that takes.
- Check renewal dates and notice periods before the next contract renews automatically.
- For usage-based cloud and AI services, find which features and teams drive the bill.