I'm creating a cost reduction program for IT contracts. Ideas of great prizes for the winning teams? Must be something really nice, but also, realistic.

The usual:  pizza lunch, gift cards, tech accessories
The not-so-usual:  escape room session, week of delivered meals, house plants

Obviously depends very much on your budget and corporate policies.

Good luck with the cost reduction program!  Let us know how it goes...

Plan to reduce costs in your IT contracts:

1. Conduct a Comprehensive IT Audit

Inventory Assessment: Review all IT assets, including hardware, software, and services.
Usage Analysis: Identify underutilised or redundant resources.
Cost Categorisation: Break down costs into categories such as infrastructure, software licenses, and support services.
2. Optimise Cloud Usage

Cloud Cost Management Tools: Use tools like AWS Cost Explorer or Azure Cost Management to monitor and optimise cloud expenses.
Right-Sizing: Adjust cloud resources to match actual usage.
Reserved Instances: For predictable workloads, use reserved instances to save costs.
Clean Up Unused Resources: Regularly remove orphaned volumes, unattached IP addresses, and outdated snapshots.
3. Negotiate Vendor Contracts

Start with a Draft: Always begin negotiations with a draft contract to set the baseline.
Identify Decision-Makers: Ensure you are negotiating with individuals who have the authority to make decisions.
Leverage Volume Discounts: Negotiate discounts based on the volume of services or products purchased.
Flexible Terms: Aim for flexible contract terms that allow for adjustments based on changing needs.
4. Implement Virtualisation and Consolidation

Server Virtualisation: Reduce the number of physical servers by using virtualisation technologies.
Storage Consolidation: Consolidate storage resources to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
5. Outsource Non-Core Functions

Managed Services: Consider outsourcing IT support and maintenance to managed service providers (MSPs) to reduce costs.
Focus on Core Activities: Keep critical IT functions in-house while outsourcing non-core activities.
6. Standardise Technology Solutions

Unified Platforms: Use standardised platforms and solutions to reduce complexity and maintenance costs.
Bulk Purchasing: Standardise hardware and software purchases to benefit from bulk pricing.
7. Embrace Open Source Solutions

Open Source Software: Use open source alternatives to reduce licensing costs.
Community Support: Leverage community support for open source tools to minimise support expenses.
8. Regularly Review and Optimise Software Licenses

License Management: Use software asset management (SAM) tools to track and optimise software licenses.
Eliminate Redundancies: Identify and eliminate redundant or unused software licenses.
9. Implement Proactive Cybersecurity Measures

Regular Audits: Conduct regular security audits to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities.
Automated Monitoring: Use automated tools for continuous monitoring and threat detection.
10. Foster a Culture of Cost Awareness

Employee Training: Educate employees on cost-saving practices and the importance of efficient resource usage.
Incentivise Savings: Create incentives for teams to identify and implement cost-saving measures.
11. Monitor and Measure Cost Reduction Efforts

KPIs and Metrics: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track cost reduction progress.
Regular Reporting: Implement regular reporting to review cost-saving initiatives and their impact.

IT cost benchmarking: This is a great starting point to create cost transparency and cost awareness. Include benchmarking of large volume contracts. The purpose is to check if you have competitive terms. 
Rapid Repricing: Systematically group all your contracts. Identify the ones with largest potential now and for covering future needs. Among other things check your volume demand growth development vs unit pricing. Is your growth reflected in decreasing unit pricing. Renegotiate the contracts where early renewals are possible. Run RFP where it is needed (due to lack of competitive terms) and possible from a technical and switching cost perspective. 
In general: Make sure that you have flexibility in your IT contracts and predictability on prices for the contract term, and for future renewals. Align the contractual term with vendors fiscal year end. Use Gartner to check the relevant supplier market for the services in scope 1-2 years (dependent on the service in scope) prior to contract term end. This to see if you can challenge the incumbent supplier.