What does Forrester’s IT spend management framework mean for state, local, and educational (SLED) tech leaders? I connected with Yessica Jones, a former State of Arkansas CIO who recently joined the Forrester team, on this topic, and it produced some interesting observations: SLED tech leaders are not expecting funding cuts. In fact, in a recent Forrester survey , 67% of SLED respondents indicated that they expected IT spend to grow in the next 12 months. Yet growth in SLED tech spend is slower than in the private sector, and leaders are telling us that they’re under unprecedented pressure from budget oversight teams to justify their spend. However … SLED tech leaders see a path to spending efficiency. In fact, 80% indicated that they saw opportunities to save 20% or more on spend through application portfolio rationalization. This includes a state Department of Public Safety and Forrester client who identified a multimillion-dollar opportunity to unify fragmented applications into one centralized inventory.…