The on-demand tech paradox: Balancing speed and spend

As digital transformation accelerates, organisations are scaling on-demand technologies – cloud, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and Gen AI – to drive agility, innovation, and competitiveness. But rising costs, decentralised spending, and governance gaps are threatening profitability and performance.

The on-demand tech paradox: Balancing speed and spend, the latest report from the Capgemini Research Institute, explores how organisations can move beyond adoption to strategic optimisation of on-demand tech, drawing on insights from a global survey of 1,000 senior executives across 14 countries and 12 industries. Key findings include:

• On-demand tech is driving growth: 77% of executives say cloud scalability is critical to business growth. IT budgets are shifting from maintenance to innovation, with on-demand tech expected to rise from 29% to 41% of spend in the next year.
• Costs are escalating: 82% report rising expenses across cloud, SaaS, and Gen AI. Decentralised tech purchases are creating inefficiencies and risks: 58% say on-demand tech costs are a “black hole,” and 56% face bill shocks due to unpredictable spikes in cloud usage.
• Cloud sovereignty is gaining ground: 46% of organisations are embedding sovereignty into cloud strategies, with 42% willing to pay an 11% premium to manage regulatory risk and ensure long-term resilience.
• FinOps maturity is limited: While 76% of organisations have or plan to build FinOps teams, only 2% of these teams cover cloud, SaaS, and Gen AI holistically. Most (63%) focus on operations, not strategic impact.

The on-demand tech paradox will be useful for C-suite and FinOps leaders, and business unit heads seeking to control costs, improve ROI, and scale on-demand tech responsibly. To unlock the full value of on-demand technologies, organisations must:

• Adopt a cloud-smart strategy aligned with business outcomes and cloud economics, supported by ecosystem partnerships and a shared language of value across finance, tech, and business teams.
• Engineer scalable, modular, and cost-aware architectures that optimise performance, reduce egress charges, and support frugal AI deployment.
• Expand FinOps scope to include cloud, SaaS, and Gen AI, evolving it into a strategic capability with cross-functional accountability and upskilling. Think beyond cost control as well, and promote holistic sponsorship, processes, and governance across all functions.
• Automate cost optimisation using AI-driven tools to manage idle resources and improve forecasting accuracy.
• Integrate sustainability into FinOps by merging cost and carbon tracking to reduce energy consumption and enhance long-term efficiency.

To learn how to optimise cloud, SaaS, and Gen AI investments – without compromising innovation, download the full report today.