In many organisations, the IT budget remains a mystery. Services are consumed, costs are allocated (somewhere), and invoices get paid—but few can confidently answer the question: “What are we actually spending on IT, and is it delivering value?”
This lack of transparency doesn’t just blur the financial picture—it leads to overspending, inefficiencies, and misaligned priorities that can quietly erode the business.
At ImprovIT, we believe that clear visibility and real accountability are the cornerstones of smarter IT decision-making. That’s why we help organisations take control of their IT spend through two powerful, proven approaches: Show-Back and Charge-Back.
Show-Back: Shedding Light on IT Costs Without the Sting
Think of show-back as holding up a mirror to your IT consumption. It provides a detailed breakdown of where your IT budget is going, aligned to services, departments, and usage levels—without immediately impacting cost centres. For instance, seeing an itemised bill in a restaurant, without the need to pay for the meal.
Why this matters:
- Identify inefficiencies: Discover where money is being wasted on underused services or duplicated resources
- Enable better decisions: When leaders can see what they’re spending, they start asking better questions—and making smarter choices.
- Build trust: Show-back creates transparency between IT and the business, laying the groundwork for collaboration and avoiding confrontation.
ImprovIT’s transparency services bring this model to life with powerful comparative analysis, data visualisation, and insightful reporting—giving your teams the clarity they need to act.
Charge-Back: Driving Accountability Through Data
While show-back informs, charge-back transforms. By linking IT consumption directly to department budgets, it ensures each team is responsible for its share of the cost—creating a powerful incentive to manage resources wisely.
Why it’s a game-changer:
- Encourages responsible usage: Teams think twice before over-provisioning or hanging onto unused services.
- Aligns IT spend with business goals: Resources flow toward areas of true strategic value.
- Reduces waste: When departments are accountable, inefficiencies don’t last long.
At ImprovIT, we guide organisations through this cultural and operational shift, helping to design fair, defensible charge-back models that drive sustainable cost control—without sacrificing innovation.
Why It Matters More Than Ever
In an age of cloud ‘as a service’, hybrid infrastructure, and fast-moving digital transformation, not knowing your IT costs is no longer an option. Every business wants to be more agile, but agility without financial clarity is just risk by another name.
With increasing pressure on CIOs and CFOs to justify IT spend, it’s time to treat IT not just as a cost centre—but as a strategic lever for business growth. That begins with visibility. And it succeeds with accountability. This enables good ITFM (IT Financial Management), a key discipline for a strong and healthy IT department.
Partner with ImprovIT: Your Trusted Advisor in IT Cost Transparency
ImprovIT is not just a consultancy—we are your strategic partner in creating a clearer, more controlled IT environment. Our advisors combine deep technical knowledge with robust commercial insight to help you:
- Build effective show-back and charge-back models.
- Benchmark your IT costs against peers and industry best practice.
- Engage stakeholders across IT and business units.
- Implement tools and dashboards for ongoing transparency.
If you’re ready to take the guesswork out of your IT spend and turn it into a source of competitive advantage, we’re ready to help.
Contact us today to find out how ImprovIT can help your organisation unlock the true value of IT.
