# geudin-predateurs-budgets-it-logiciels-cloud-2026-01-26

## Veille

Software and cloud predators for IT budgets - rising SaaS costs, embedded AI, FinOps optimization, unused licenses

## Titre Article

Logiciels et cloud : l'ère des prédateurs pour vos budgets IT

## Date

2026-01-26

## URL

https://www.cio-online.com/actualites/lire-logiciels-et-cloud-l-ere-des-predateurs-pour-vos-budgets-it-16799.html

## Keywords

IT budgets, software costs, cloud, SaaS, price increases, unused licenses, FinOps, purchasing optimization, embedded AI, ARPU, Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, Oracle, SAP, open source, multi-sourcing, Capex, Opex, CIO, rationalization

## Authors

Guillaume Geudin

## Ton

Profile: Expert opinion piece published on CIO Online, professional and analytical register, IT purchasing perspective (director of purchasing performance at Elee).
Style: Alarmist yet factual tone, backed by precise figures and percentage ranges. Classic argumentative structure: problem diagnosis, quantification of the drift, then concrete remediation proposals. Vocabulary borrowed from ecology ("predators", "survival") to dramatize urgency. Authority built on field expertise in vendor negotiations. Target audience: CIOs, IT purchasing directors, CFOs, decision-makers responsible for software budgets.

## Pense-betes

- **Annual increase**: 12-14% rise in CIO invoices, well above inflation
- **Capex to Opex transition**: Massive shift from perpetual licenses to SaaS subscriptions since 2020, making costs recurring and less predictable
- **Opaque metrics**: Billing based on hard-to-predict indicators (API calls, storage, active users)
- **Erosion of historical discounts**: End of preferential agreements secured in the 2010s
- **2020-2024 increases by vendor**: Microsoft +11-25% (Copilot AI +85%), Google Gemini +20-45%, Salesforce +15%, Oracle +8-12%, SAP +3.3-5%
- **Forced embedded AI**: AI features integrated by default with no opt-out option, raising ARPU by 30-80%
- **2028 projection**: Without optimization, IT spending rising 50-60%
- **30% of licenses unused**: First and most immediate savings lever
- **Early negotiation**: Start 12-18 months before contract deadline
- **FinOps**: Continuous monitoring enabling 20-30% savings
- **Alternatives**: Open source and multi-sourcing as pressure and cost-reduction levers
- **Software portfolio = strategic asset**: Requires the same management rigor as payroll or Capex

## RésuméDe400mots

Guillaume Geudin, director of purchasing performance at Elee, publishes an opinion piece in CIO Online warning about the uncontrolled drift of software and cloud costs within IT budgets. The finding is quantified: CIO invoices are rising 12 to 14% per year, a pace that far exceeds inflation and threatens organizations' financial balance.

The author identifies three structural factors behind this escalation. First, since 2020, the massive migration from perpetual licenses (Capex) to SaaS subscriptions (Opex) has turned the cloud's promise of flexibility into a permanent budgetary drift. Second, vendors use opaque and unpredictable billing metrics (API calls, storage, active users). Third, the historical discounts negotiated in the 2010s are shrinking rapidly.

The per-vendor figures are telling. Between 2020 and 2024, Microsoft raised its prices by 11 to 25%, with an 85% jump for Copilot AI. Google Gemini shows increases of 20 to 45%, Salesforce 15%, Oracle 8 to 12%, and SAP 3.3 to 5%. The most aggressive strategy consists of embedding artificial intelligence features by default, with no option to opt out, which inflates average revenue per user (ARPU) by 30 to 80%.

Without corrective action, Geudin projects a 50 to 60% increase in IT spending by 2028. To regain control, he proposes five concrete levers. First lever: fine-grained usage analysis, since 30% of software licenses go unused and represent an immediate source of savings. Second lever: rationalizing the application portfolio to eliminate redundancies. Third lever: early negotiation, to be initiated 12 to 18 months before contract deadlines in order to secure a favorable bargaining position. Fourth lever: implementing continuous FinOps monitoring, which can generate 20 to 30% in savings. Fifth lever: resorting to alternatives such as open source and multi-sourcing to create competitive pressure.

The author's conclusion is programmatic: the software portfolio must be considered a strategic asset requiring the same management rigor as payroll or Capex investments. The era in which CIOs could passively absorb price increases is over; controlling software costs is becoming a critical organizational competency.

## GrapheDeConnaissance

- Guillaume Geudin —travaille_chez→ Elee (ORGANISATION, 0.95)
- Guillaume Geudin —affirme_que→ les factures DSI augmentent de 12-14% par an (AFFIRMATION, 0.98)
- Microsoft —mesure→ hausse tarifaire 11-25% (2020-2024) (MESURE, 0.97)
- Microsoft —mesure→ hausse Copilot AI +85% (MESURE, 0.95)
- Google —mesure→ hausse Gemini 20-45% (MESURE, 0.95)
- Salesforce —mesure→ hausse tarifaire 15% (MESURE, 0.93)
- Oracle —mesure→ hausse tarifaire 8-12% (MESURE, 0.92)
- SAP —mesure→ hausse tarifaire 3.3-5% (MESURE, 0.92)
- Éditeurs logiciels —utilise→ IA embarquée par défaut (TECHNOLOGIE, 0.96)
- IA embarquée —améliore→ ARPU (+30-80%) (CONCEPT, 0.9)
- Transition SaaS —permet→ passage de Capex en Opex (CONCEPT, 0.95)
- FinOps —réduit→ coûts cloud 20-30% (CONCEPT, 0.88)
- Licences inutilisées —mesure→ 30% du parc logiciel (MESURE, 0.9)
- Guillaume Geudin —prédit→ hausse 50-60% des dépenses IT d'ici 2028 (AFFIRMATION, 0.85)
- Open source —est_instance_de→ alternative de pression concurrentielle (CONCEPT, 0.85)

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Canonical: https://www.thekb.eu/en/fiches/geudin-predateurs-budgets-it-logiciels-cloud-2026-01-26/