Make spending attributable
Assign spend to products, environments and owners. Separate the baseline needed to run the business from usage that grows with customers.
Look at unit economics
Compare cost with the work delivered: cost per transaction, per customer or per completed AI task. Total spend can increase while efficiency improves.
Protect the customer experience
Cost reductions should be evaluated against reliability and performance requirements. Remove idle capacity and unnecessary duplication before changing critical service commitments.
Keep the improvement
Agree budgets, review exceptions and give owners a repeatable monthly report. A one-off reduction is useful; a working cost-management process is more durable.