Budget season can cause stress even amongst the most seasoned IT professionals. IT departments are constantly under pressure to justify the dollars being requested in their budget. Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) is an alternative to traditional budgeting methods that seeks to help create a more transparent IT budget, helping further IT’s cause.

Zero-Based Budgeting vs. Incremental Budgeting

The key premise of ZBB is that departmental budgets should be determined by justifying every cost item to ensure that it is necessary. Instead of basing budgets primarily on past expenditure patterns, ZBB turns budgeting into an analytical exercise that seeks to identify where improvements can be made throughout the department.