With a modern reference architecture, a redefined platform operating model, and a platform leader who embraces a forward-looking, product-oriented mindset, the stage is set to do more than streamline IT delivery. This team is now positioned to drive measurable cost savings , vendor management and reduce inefficiencies across the CIO organization.
🔁 From Fragmentation to Integrated Oversight
By consolidating labor spend and software spend under platform teams, enterprises gain the ability to:
- Continuously evaluate current technologies in use
- Anticipate growth and capacity needs
- Conduct market scans to assess cost-effective alternatives
- Minimize vendor lock-in by maintaining multi-vendor strategies
This is where platform teams evolve from enablers to strategic cost optimizers.
🧩 Integration Platform Example
A practical example is the integration platform. For a large enterprise:
Legacy integration tools may continue to exist during the transition phase.
A single-vendor solution is rarely sufficient.
Most adopt a combination of cloud-native services and two or more iPaaS (integration platform as a service) tools.
The platform team should take ownership of evaluating and defining key metrics—such as cost per transaction—to benchmark performance across vendors. Lower-cost alternatives can be introduced incrementally for new use cases, while legacy platforms are phased out naturally through broader business-led transformations. One critical risk to manage: the temptation to pursue “technology for technology’s sake,” where teams adopt new tools without a clear business need or value proposition.
To avoid this:
- Use NPV-based solution evaluation to assess migration and licensing costs (as outlined in a previous blog).
- Only onboard new tools where there is a clear business case, TCO advantage, or risk mitigation need.
When legacy platforms approach end of life, replatforming becomes necessary.
💵 Optimizing Labor Allocation
Cost optimization isn’t just about software — labor spend is equally crucial.
For example:
- If four engineers manage integrations for a customer group, but a modern platform can do the same with one, it creates an opportunity to redeploy or reduce labor cost.
- Platform teams can standardize, automate, and optimize delivery pipelines, freeing up expensive resources.
Spend optimization is measurable — platforms should track cost-per-feature, cost-per-integration, and time-to-delivery metrics.
🧾 Strengthening Vendor Management
One of the most impactful levers for cost control is active vendor management. When platform teams are centrally organized, they are better positioned to:
Coordinate vendor selection with product roadmaps and cloud strategies
Negotiate strategic contracts with enterprise-level visibility
Leverage usage data and performance metrics in renewal discussions
Maintain competitive pressure through multi-vendor ecosystems
Platform teams also help avoid fragmented procurement by serving as a centralized control point for:
- Software licensing
- Contract lifecycle oversight
- Vendor evaluation and onboarding
By linking vendor decisions to internal KPIs (cost per integration, transaction volume, availability, etc.), organizations can avoid lock-in, reduce surprises at renewal, and proactively plan exits or shifts when necessary.
Centralized platform governance transforms vendor management from a reactive negotiation to a strategic, data-informed advantage.
🤝 Federating Work and Managing Lock-in
Many enterprises federate some development work (like integration development on iPAAS) to delivery teams for agility. While this enables speed, it introduces risks:
- Inconsistent tooling
- Shadow IT procurement
- Tighter vendor lock-in and higher switching costs
Platform teams should retain control over:
- Core integration and data platforms
- Centralized contracts and licensing
- Strategic tooling and infrastructure
Federate where speed is critical and cloud native technologies, but centralize ownership where risk and cost are high.
As organizations adopt more SAAS-based systems (most of which include their own data and integration layers), the need for aggressive federation declines.
🧠 Takeaway
By organizing specific platform teams, organizations:
- Empower teams to act with ownership
- Align platform strategy with business outcomes
- Optimize both labor and software costs
- Strengthen vendor management across the IT estate
- Gain agility in replatforming and contract negotiations
Technology Spend optimization becomes a tangible, continuous outcome — not a one-time budgeting exercise. Platform teams can and should be measured on their ability to reduce cost, minimize lock-in, and maintain future optionality.
Tech Canvas 