Forecasting IT spend is a lot like owning a car. You budget for fuel, but the surprise repairs, tire changes, and unexpected recalls are what really strain your wallet. For CFOs, IT budgets behave the same way.
Most executives now recognize that technology is no longer a back-office cost centre. It is a strategic enabler of growth, efficiency, and compliance. But all IT systems sit on a foundation of Asset Management, and for business leaders, managing the financial exposure tied to IT assets remains a persistent challenge.
Improving the quality of forecasting depends on improving the quality of asset management itself. Yet this is often one of the most neglected areas of the business. With the right visibility, controls, and expertise, forecasting IT spend can be as reliable as any other line of the balance sheet.
Even with robust software platforms and well-defined processes, asset management still presents challenges. This is because it is not just about technology and procedures, but also people, organizational culture, and constantly shifting business needs.
Priorities change, staff turnover leaves knowledge gaps, and compliance requirements evolve. New technologies are introduced while legacy systems remain in place. Even with the right tools, the complexity of integrating both old and new environments makes it difficult to maintain accurate records.
That accuracy matters. Devices move, get reassigned, or disappear entirely. Laptops and phones have a tendency to grow legs. Licenses are renewed automatically whether they are in use or not. Support contracts expire unnoticed. Each of these gaps distorts depreciation schedules, weakens compliance, and throws forecasts off track. Most importantly, without trustworthy lifecycle data, it becomes nearly impossible to tie technology spend directly to business outcomes or to measure ROI on digital innovation.
Some symptoms of poor asset management are obvious. Devices vanish without record and must be replaced unexpectedly. Over-provisioning ties up capital in technology that sits idle. Under-provisioning leaves staff without the right tools, creating productivity bottlenecks. These are the IT equivalents of buying more cars than you need or trying to run a business with not enough vehicles on the road.
Other issues are more subtle. Inaccurate records skew depreciation schedules, making balance sheets less reliable. Compliance risk increases when outdated or unsupported devices remain in circulation. And without solid utilization data, CFOs and CIOs lose the ability to make a strong business case for reinvestment in innovation. Over time, these gaps eat away at efficiency and resilience, making technology spend unpredictable and difficult to defend.
One of Canada’s largest investment firms offers a clear example. Locked into a shared services model with a parent company, they faced the daunting task of separating and rebuilding their IT foundation — with more than 90 projects on the line. Instead of simply supplying extra hands, Compugen partnered with their leadership to design a roadmap that balanced urgency with clarity. The result was more than a smooth transition: it reframed IT from a cost centre into a builder of business value. What began as a short-term engagement became a multi-year partnership that proved efficiency and resilience can go hand in hand.
Artificial Intelligence is accelerating the pace of change. AI PCs and Copilot+ PCs represent a new generation of endpoints designed to meet modern demands. They keep sensitive data away from unauthorized parties and integrate AI efficiency tools seamlessly with productivity applications. For CFOs, that means forecasts and reports can be generated securely on the device itself, without incurring unpredictable cloud costs.
But these benefits come with new complexities. More asset types need to be tracked. More expertise is required to manage them. And as the fleet of endpoints expands, the pressure on organizations to get asset management right only increases.
The encouraging news is that most organizations already have the foundational elements of asset management in place. The problem is that these elements are often scattered across teams and stakeholders, operating with fragmented accountability. That fragmentation leads to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for improvement.
Standing up a full asset management program across an enterprise can feel like a heavy lift, especially when budgets are tight and resources are stretched. But it does not need to be an all-or-nothing commitment. By starting with manageable services such as lifecycle management, asset baseline assessments, or targeted consulting, organizations can see immediate results.
These steps create measurable value. Extending device lifecycles through structured refresh and repair programs reduces capital waste. Asset baseline assessments uncover hidden costs and strengthen forecasting. Targeted consulting engagements improve compliance and governance. Each small step builds a foundation of accurate data and proven process that can scale over time.
In other words, you do not need to transform overnight. You can reduce waste, strengthen compliance, and improve forecasting one step at a time.
The difference comes down to partnership. A vendor might sell you devices or platforms. A Technology Ally ensures the entire fleet runs smoothly and that the investment delivers measurable value.
Compugen combines national scale with the agility to adapt quickly to customer needs. What sets us apart is not size, but philosophy — putting customer outcomes first, aligning technology with business priorities, and sharing accountability for results.
And our partnership with Microsoft provides institutions with modern devices, enterprise-grade security, and advanced productivity tools that support both financial discipline and innovation. By combining lifecycle management expertise with Microsoft’s secure platforms, Compugen helps CFOs and CIOs reduce waste, improve forecasting, and ensure IT spend is directly tied to business performance. Together, Compugen and Microsoft give financial institutions the clarity and control needed to compete with confidence.
Connect with Compugen’s Financial Services team to explore how disciplined asset management can help you cut waste, improve compliance, and build forecasts you can stand behind.