By reworking those agreements and some others, he cut several million dollars in IT overhead. "Everything is negotiable," says Cortese, the company's vice president of IT.

As the economy slides, that's becoming the mantra for more and more IT leaders, says Joe Auer, president of International Computer Negotiations Inc., a Winter Park, Fla.-based consultancy. "When [economic] times are great, it's tough to get people to ," says Auer, who has 34 years of technology contract negotiation experience. "But when times are tough, they want to."

Do they ever. Forrester Research Inc. analyst says that over the past few months, more than 200 clients have contacted him and other Forrester analysts looking for help in renegotiating existing licensing and maintenance pacts. "They're looking for Plan B's" to cut costs, says Wang.

Now is the time to design your own Plan B. Here are nine ideas to help you negotiate harder with vendors, cut waste, sharpen licenses and get more out of your IT assets this year:

1. Do Your Homework.