Digital TransformationTake back control of your tools
Decide, with the numbers in hand, whether to keep, renegotiate or replace a system, including your ERP. We help CEOs reduce their dependence on software vendors and bring every tool back to the job it is meant to do. Your tools should serve your performance, not dictate it.
For CEOs whose digital tools cost more than they return, or slow decisions down.
The total cost of your tools and your dependencies, and the savings available, quantified.
A map of tools and contracts, a rationalization plan, exit scenarios.
Keep, renegotiate or replace, knowing the numbers.
Signs a tool costs more than it returns
License and maintenance bills keep rising while the service stays the same.
Custom code no one fully understands anymore makes every change slow and expensive.
Your data is hard to extract, or you are charged to extract it.
Several tools do the same job, and no one knows how many subscriptions are actually used.
The vendor sets your timetable: end of maintenance, forced migration, new licensing model.
What we do
Map and quantify
An inventory of your tools and contracts, their total cost of ownership (licenses, maintenance, hosting, development, internal time) and your dependencies: data, skills, exit clauses.
Rationalize
Every tool goes back to its role. Duplicates go, unused subscriptions are canceled, and contracts are renegotiated with the numbers to back you.
Reduce dependence
Exit provisions, data portability, open standards where they perform as well, and an exit scenario prepared before you need it.
What an unmanaged software portfolio costs
Illustrative example. The figures are working assumptions for a hypothetical company, not a client result. They show the order of magnitude of what a diagnostic brings to light.
| Item | Assumption | Annual amount |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline software spend | Licenses and subscriptions €300K, maintenance and support €120K, custom development €60K | €480K |
| Unused subscriptions canceled | 15% of subscriptions | €45K |
| Maintenance renegotiated | 10% of the contract | €12K |
| Duplicates eliminated | Two tools doing the same job | €20K |
| Recurring savings | Total of the three lines above, or 16% of spend | €77K |
Over three years, the savings reach €231K, without changing any core system. We deliberately use a conservative assumption: Zylo measures an average of 53% of SaaS licenses unused over thirty days across its clients, though these are mostly large organizations.
Our approach, step by step
- Listen and take inventory. Interviews with leadership, business units and IT; collection of contracts and invoices. Deliverable: a map of tools, contracts and dependencies.
- Quantify the total cost. Licenses, maintenance, hosting, development, internal time, and the exit cost of each critical tool. Deliverable: total cost of ownership by tool and by process.
- Build the scenarios. Keep, renegotiate, rationalize or replace, each costed over the same period, including the scenario of changing nothing. Deliverable: comparable scenarios and a rationalization plan.
- Decide. You choose, with the numbers in hand. The engagement can end here.
- Implement, if you want. Renegotiations, cancellations, exit provisions, then, if a tool has to change, requirements and vendor selection. Deliverable: realized savings, measured against the baseline.
What you can expect
Costs under control. Every euro of software spend is tied to a use and an owner.
Bargaining power restored. You negotiate with an exit scenario ready, no longer from a position of dependence.
Faster decisions. Tools back in their lane, accessible data, less custom code to maintain.
The risks we address at the scoping stage
- Hidden dependence: data, skills or custom code that only one provider controls.
- Underestimated exit costs: contract terms, data migration, a period of parallel running.
- Savings that never show up: a subscription canceled on paper but still billed.
- Team buy-in: a tool withdrawn with no replacement for the people who use it.
Why now
Two deadlines make the question concrete. SAP has set the end of 2027 as the end of mainstream maintenance for ECC, with paid extended maintenance through the end of 2030. And from January 12, 2027, the EU Data Act eliminates cloud switching charges, subject to exceptions: leaving a provider gets cheaper, provided you have prepared for it.
Dependence also has an immediate price. After Broadcom acquired VMware, CIOs surveyed by Cigref reported bills multiplied by 3 to 12 (Le Monde Informatique, May 22, 2024). And according to the Capgemini Research Institute (September 2026), 36% of large organizations would need more than twelve months to exit a critical vendor.
Moving off an ERP that holds you back
Before you commit to a project that runs for months, we put a number on every option, including staying. An aging ERP weighs on margin and on decision speed.
What others offer, and where we fit
No category of firm combines three things: independence from software vendors, an economic case for the decision, and a format sized for the company. That is the position we hold.
| Players | What they offer | Their limit for a CEO |
|---|---|---|
| Software vendors and systems integrators | Diagnostics and migrations to their own solution | The advice leads to their product; the question of leaving is never asked |
| Large strategy and transformation firms | Transformation programs and operating models | Format and fees designed for large groups, often tied to an implementation business |
| Audit and IT consulting firms | Software selection methods | Little quantification of the cost of staying or leaving |
| Third-party support and licensing specialists | Non-vendor maintenance, license audits and renegotiation | A single answer, sold by the firm that delivers it |
| Fractional CIOs and independent consultants | IT master plan, tool selection, project management | A technical approach, rarely tied to the P&L |
Our difference: we talk margin, cash and enterprise value, and we always put a number on the scenario of changing nothing.
Our role
We don’t rebuild what already exists
When a strong solution already exists, we help you choose it and integrate it. When nothing exists, or your redesigned processes require it, we design the tool to fit.
We are independent of software vendors
Our only interest is your result.
The choice stays yours
Hosting and operations can stay with your current providers. We help you compare and negotiate. The decision is yours.
For data and artificial intelligence, see AI Transformation.
Frequently asked questions
Does reducing dependence mean switching vendors?
No. Often, renegotiating a contract, retrieving your data in an open format and writing an exit provision are enough to restore your bargaining power. Changing tools is only one scenario among others.
What does it mean to rationalize the role of each tool?
Deciding what each tool should do, and only that. A tool that spills beyond its role creates duplication, custom code and dependence.
Do you work with open-source solutions?
Yes, when they perform as well and their total cost of ownership is lower. The choice rests on total cost and on the service delivered, not on principle.
How long does the diagnostic take?
A few weeks, depending on the number of tools and sites. Scope and timeline are agreed together before we start. Fees reflect the scope of each engagement and are discussed in a first conversation.
Do we need to involve our IT team?
For the diagnostic, a few interviews and access to contracts and invoices are enough. We work alongside your team and your providers, without taking their place.
Do your tools cost you more than they return?
Peter Guillon will call you back within 8 business hours.
