Advisory

Cost Optimization Services

Achieve a competitive edge through sustainable cost transparency, cost reduction and cost agility across your technology and business operations.

TopBar cost optimization strategy consulting BottomBar
Top Story

AI-Powered Cost Optimization: How Smart Companies Are Slashing Expenses and Boosting Efficiency in 2025

Cost optimization in 2025 is no longer just about reducing expenses—it has become a strategic necessity for business resilience and long-term success.

Read more

AI-driven Cost Transformation

Traditional approaches to cost optimization are still good hygiene, but today remaining competitive requires AI-driven cost transformation. We address three levels of cost optimization, identifying quick-win and deep-potential opportunities and working toward both simultaneously. ISG helps our clients achieve fast, sustainable savings through AI-centered expert advisory, market data and insights, and execution support.

impact of cost optimization by type

The final method is a cost transformation of your business' operating model for agility, resulting in cost transparency. Using zero-based budgeting to stay goal-aligned, AI to accelerate the business, and change management to empower your people, you can continuously optimize costs to stay competitive.

An intermediate method, cost substitution, involves operating model substitution usually through outsourcing, global capability centers, and/or AI and automation to drive sustainable cost resets.

 

    Get Started Today

How to Get Started:
A Rapid Cost Assessment

We believe that you can't manage what you don't measure. The first step to achieving optimized costs is knowing where you are mis-aligned with the market and your goals. 

Step 1:

We perform a rapid, holistic market assessment of your IT and business functions looking for opportunities in four areas by asking:

  • Supplier Ecosystem: Can external spend be reduced?
  • AI and Automation: Can technology provide a better solution?
  • Processes & Controls: Do you have the right visibility, transparency, decision support and controls?
  • Operating Model: Can your operating model be improved to deliver better outcomes at a reduced cost?

Step 2: 

We build a transformation roadmap prioritizing your cost optimization opportunities, a business case with an operational expenditure (OpEx) view, and a future-state operating model design.

Step 3: 

We execute the transformation plan to realize phased savings, leveraging strengths in organizational change management, operating model design, sourcing and market data/research.

  • Cost Transformation Projects, incl. AI, Transformative Sourcing, GCCs, Apps
  • Control Effectiveness Projects, incl. CoE, FinOps, Project Estimation, TBM
  • Supplier Sourcing Projects, incl. Services, Labor, Network, Cloud
  • Supplier Governance Projects, incl. Value Realization, VMO, Software Audit Defense, Telecom Audit

Project Estimation
and Controls

How do you know your project costs are reasonable and being controlled appropriately?

We simplify project cost and effort estimation, preventing scope creep with rigorous controls and governance, providing you with:

  • Enhanced visibility into expenditures to allow for better budget management
  • Optimized costs for each phase of the project by analyzing the work effort and staffing needed to complete the phase and benchmarking the market rates for that effort
  • Continuous monitoring, which identifies cost-saving opportunities throughout the project
  • Built-in risk identification and proactive risk management

Client Results from Cost Optimization

Saving shouldn’t compromise your growth. That's why ISG aligns cost optimization with your top-line business strategy, ensuring the program enables, and never hinders, your next move. We help you achieve sustainable savings that won't have cost bounce backs by integrating a cost optimization center of excellence into your company DNA. And our results speak for themselves:

$28M Saved

ISG assessment identified 20% in annual savings from near-term addressable spend for a North American automotive firm.

17% Saved

ISG identified accelerated transformation savings worth $7M to 16M in short term for a global manufacturer.

$33M Saved

ISG rationalized the portfolio of network providers for a North American FinTech firm by 40%.

$60M Saved

ISG achieved reductions through Project Estimation as a Service on a $460M portfolio for a North American energy firm.

$2M Saved

ISG assessed 100 processes and delivered $2.1M in automation savings in just six weeks for a financial services firm.

$4M Saved

ISG GovernX® enabled savings on renewals in just 2 weeks for a North American healthcare company.

Average Cost Savings After a Cost Optimization Exercise

 

Software and Cloud, Network and Telecom, Service Providers

20% TO 30% OF SPECIFIC EXTERNAL SPEND IN SAVINGS

________________________________________________________________________

Contract Governance, Telecom Audit, Software Audit Defense

10% TO 35%* OF APPLICABLE EXTERNAL SPEND IN SAVINGS 

*For software audits, we see savings <95% of applicable external spend 

________________________________________________________________________

Managed Services Sourcing, GCCs, Automation

20% TO 50% OF OVERALL COST AREAS

________________________________________________________________________

Software Asset Management (SAM), FinOps, Technology Business Management (TBM), Project Estimation and Controls, or Application Rationalization

15% TO 30% OF SPECIFIC COST AREAS

Featured Event

Future Workplace Summit

Your Priority: Building a Future-Ready Workforce to Ride the Wave of Change

Register now

Meet our team