Top 3 Priorities for Maximizing ROI on IT Spend

Today’s IT leaders face the critical challenge of maximizing return on investment while innovating fast enough to remain competitive. In their 2025 IT Priorities Report, Flexera identified the top three IT challenges that, if solved, would make a difference in respondents’ organizations:

By strategically addressing these areas, IT leaders can ensure their organizations remain agile, scalable, and secure — ultimately driving financial performance and innovation.

Integrating AI

It should come as no surprise that artificial intelligence is top-of-mind for most IT professionals. While it is still a relatively young technology, AI is already transforming the way we do business — enhancing productivity, improving customer experience, and empowering in-depth future forecasting and modeling.

However, the success of AI hinges on the knowledge and preparedness of the people who deploy it. Organizations must address skills gaps and ensure proper governance before they can harness the transformative power of AI.

90% of IT decision makers believe employee skillsets must evolve to maximize AI’s potential

Here are a few actionable steps that IT leaders can take to maximize ROI on AI investments:

• Identify Strategic AI Applications: AI is not one-size-fits-all. To ensure AI is an impactful investment for your organization — and not just another expense — you must first understand your objectives and how AI can help you meet them. Begin by conducting a thorough assessment of your business processes to identify areas where AI can create efficiencies or uncover new opportunities. For example, you may benefit from using generative AI for content creation or applying machine learning for predictive analytics.
• Educate Your Team: It will be critical to ensure that your team is prepared to use AI efficiently, accurately, and ethically. Invest in upskilling initiatives to educate employees on AI concepts, ethical considerations, and practical applications.
• Establish a Governance Framework: Creating guidelines around costs, roles and responsibilities, compliance, and decision-making will help ensure that AI initiatives meet your organization’s needs. To create a scalable governance framework, you must understand where you are now and where you want to go. Regular reviews and updates ensure that your AI practices keep pace with technological advancements and changing business needs.

Reducing Security Risks

Organizations face IT threats from all sides. Cyberattacks are becoming more and more sophisticated, while the emergence of new technologies is creating an increasingly complex regulatory environment. These risks come at a significant cost — the global average cost of a data breach reached a record in 2024 at $4.8 million.

Mitigating IT risks is essential to protect sensitive data, maintain operational integrity, and ensure profitability. Here are a few strategies you can take to reduce your security risks:

• Track Key Risk Indicators (KRIs): KRIs are used to measure and monitor potential vulnerabilities that could negatively impact an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives. This can lead to better detection of potential risks earlier on, allowing organizations to take proactive measures before risks escalate into more significant issues.
• Stay on Top of Outdated Technology: Outdated systems and end-of-life technologies can create security vulnerabilities and incur high maintenance costs. Regularly reviewing and updating technology ensures it remains secure and cost-effective.
• Leverage Automation: The longer a cyberattack goes undetected and unresolved, the higher the cost. Automation has the ability to protect your organization and detect an attack faster than human recognition. Consider using AI to scan your emails and web traffic. If the system identifies something suspicious, it can identify and alert you to the risk, so you can spring into action.

Reducing IT Costs

Optimizing IT spending is a universal challenge: in Flexera’s survey, only 15% of IT leaders surveyed said they weren’t overspending on tools and technology. Continually throwing new technologies at your organization won’t make you more secure or profitable. Instead, maximizing ROI is a matter of selecting the right tools at the right time.

By addressing overspending and enhancing visibility into your existing tech stack, you can better align your IT budget with organizational priorities. Here’s how to do it:

• Take Inventory of Your Technology: A comprehensive business and technology assessment can help you identify overlaps, unused capabilities, and unnecessary or outdated tools — revealing myriad opportunities for cost savings. Any savings realized from greater efficiency can be reinvested in future technology investments.
• Review Software Licensing: Regularly assessing software licenses ensures that you are not overspending on unused or redundant licenses.
• Collaborate with Your Finance Team: While IT decision makers contribute a deep understanding of technology trends and innovations, their counterparts in the finance office understand the financial implications of digital initiatives and can balance short-term costs with long-term benefits. By working together, these teams ensure that technology investments drive both innovation and financial stability.

Make the Most of Your IT Spend

Maximizing ROI on IT spend requires a strategic approach to integrating AI, mitigating security risks, and optimizing spending. By focusing on these key areas, IT leaders can navigate the complexities of the digital landscape and lead their organizations toward sustainable success.