Tjeerd Edelman

Jun. 30,2026 | Procurement, CFO, CIO, IT Insights

As a former Head of Procurement for a couple firms, I have seen this play out first hand, and even more working with companies all over the globe with NET(net). For years, most companies managed technology costs one transaction at a time. A major renewal appeared on the calendar, procurement negotiated a discount, everyone survived the final week of redlines, and attention moved to the next supplier. That approach worked reasonably well when technology portfolios were simpler. But it's becoming much less effective today. Worldwide IT spending continues to climb, while major suppliers are changing pricing, packaging, licensing metrics and ...

Steven Zolman

Jun. 30,2026 | Microsoft

For years, Microsoft Enterprise Agreement renewals followed a relatively familiar script. Microsoft proposed an increase. Procurement expressed concern. Microsoft discovered that quarter-end was approaching. Everyone negotiated intensely, signed the agreement and promised to start planning earlier next time. It was practically a corporate tradition. That tradition has now received what Microsoft might call a “pricing consistency update” and what most CFOs will call something considerably less suitable for publication. Beginning November 1, 2025, Microsoft eliminated the automatic pricing differences between Enterprise Agreement Price Levels ...

Michael Welsh

Jun. 30,2026 | Software, Microsoft, AI

For the past several years, the executive conversation around artificial intelligence has been fairly predictable: “We need an AI strategy.” “What are our competitors doing with AI?” “Why aren’t we doing more with AI?” And, inevitably: “Can we add AI to the presentation?” Apparently, no corporate initiative is complete until a small glowing robot has been placed somewhere on Slide 4. But the conversation is changing. The enthusiasm is still there, the investment is certainly still there, and the PowerPoint robots remain gainfully employed. What has changed is the question coming from CFOs, boards and private equity sponsors: Where is the ...

Michael Welsh

May. 29,2026 | Oracle, Audit, Java

By now, many enterprise IT and procurement leaders are becoming familiar with a particular type of Oracle email. It usually starts innocently enough. “Hi, we’d like to better understand your Java environment.” Or perhaps: “We noticed some historical Java downloads and would appreciate a quick conversation.” Naturally, nobody has ever regretted replying to one of those emails. In 2026, there is substantial evidence across the industry that Oracle is using Java audits as far more than a routine compliance exercise. Increasingly, Java has become a strategic entry point into broader revenue expansion conversations, subscription growth ...

Austin Zolman

May. 29,2026 | AI

Artificial Intelligence was supposed to make businesses more efficient. Instead, for many executives, it currently resembles a very intelligent toddler with access to the corporate credit card. AI initiatives are exploding across enterprises in 2026. Boards want AI. Business units want AI. Vendors definitely want AI. Everyone has a “transformational” roadmap, a usage-based pricing model, and an urgent recommendation that you scale immediately. What nobody seems eager to discuss is the invoice. Across the market, organizations are running into a new reality: AI-driven IT spend is becoming wildly unpredictable. Consumption-based pricing for ...

Tjeerd Edelman

May. 28,2026 | Software, Microsoft, CFO, CIO

For many organizations, Microsoft renewals have become routine. This summer, they should not be. Beginning in July, Microsoft pricing changes are set to materially increase costs across several key Microsoft 365 licensing categories. Frontline SKUs are expected to rise approximately 25% to 33%, while many business-tier offerings are increasing 12% to 17%. For organizations renewing Enterprise Agreements (EAs) or cloud subscriptions in Q3, the window to influence commercial outcomes is rapidly closing. The challenge is not simply the increase itself. It is that many organizations are approaching renewal discussions with the same posture they ...

Tjeerd Edelman

Mar. 31,2026 | Microsoft, Azure, Reseller

After three decades in enterprise sourcing, I've watched countless organizations pay for the illusion of optimization. In the Microsoft Azure ecosystem, no illusion is more expensive than assuming your CSP reseller is doing FinOps. Let me be direct with you: the Microsoft CSP model is commercial plumbing. It was designed to manage billing relationships, provisioning, and frontline support, not to systematically reduce your cloud spend. That conflation, between access to cost data and the active discipline of managing it, is one of the most expensive misunderstandings I see across large enterprise Azure environments. The confusion is ...

Austin Zolman

Mar. 31,2026 | Fiscal Year End

Every year around this time, something very predictable happens in the enterprise software market. A large number of the biggest technology vendors all approach key financial deadlines at roughly the same time. Fiscal year-end, half-year close, quarter pressure, it all converges in late spring and early summer. For companies with renewals coming up, this creates a window of opportunity that is often overlooked. Why This Moment Matters Many of the largest software providers are heading into critical reporting periods right now. Fiscal Year End (FYE): Microsoft, June 30: Microsoft tends to push hard on E5 and AI attach (Copilot) at year-end, ...

Michael Welsh

Mar. 31,2026 | AI

Enterprise AI adoption has moved from experimentation to commitment. Organizations are rapidly embedding platforms such as Microsoft Copilot, Salesforce Agentforce, Amazon Bedrock, and Databricks into their core operating environments. The strategic rationale is clear. AI is now viewed as a foundational capability, not an optional add-on. The issue is not whether to invest, but how quickly and at what scale. What is far less clear and increasingly problematic, is how these investments are being priced, structured, and contracted. A Market Without Benchmarks Unlike traditional enterprise software categories, the AI market does not yet have ...

Austin Zolman

Feb. 26,2026 | CFO, Cloud, CIO, Vendor Management, AI, FinOps

The 2026 IT Budget Surge: How to Turn 10%+ Increases into Measurable ROI, Not Vendor Windfalls The consensus with most analyst firms, is that worldwide IT spending is projected to reach $6.15 trillion in 2026, up 10%+ year over year, driven by an 80.8% surge in AI-related spending, a 31.7% jump in data center systems, and acceleration in software spend - projected to grow by over 14% driven by data analytics, cybersecurity, and integration of AI platforms into core business functions. At the enterprise level, 75% of CFOs expect tech budgets to rise, and 48% are planning increases of 10% or more. The largest allocations are going to IT, AI, ...