If IT budgeting and planning still revolves around sprawling spreadsheets, endless email threads, and files named Final_v9_REALLY_FINAL.xlsx, you’re not alone. What usually starts as a “temporary” workaround quietly becomes the system of record for billions in technology spend. Version control breaks down, approvals stall, and simple questions—Can we afford this? What changed? What if we delay it?—can take weeks to answer.
This eBook takes a candid look at why spreadsheet-driven IT budgeting and planning fails at scale and why even the most disciplined teams struggle to make it work. More importantly, it outlines a practical way out—one that keeps spreadsheets where they’re strong, but moves planning, governance, and forecasting into a system built for the complexity of modern IT.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- The 16 warning signs that spreadsheet-based IT planning is slowing decisions, introducing errors, and exhausting your team
- Why spreadsheets struggle to support enterprise-scale IT planning, from version sprawl to limited what-if analysis
- How to plan like IT and reconcile like Finance, without rebuilding numbers every cycle
- What FP&A actually needs from IT planning to support forecasting, reporting, and accountability
- How organizations move from spreadsheets to an IT Financial Management (ITFM) platform without disrupting their process
- What best-in-class IT planning looks like in practice—faster cycles, fewer surprises, and trusted numbers
- A practical checklist for getting off spreadsheets, including where to start and how to prove value quickly
- How to build a credible business case for modern IT planning using real operational outcomes
