Sopra Steria Next targets cloud budget volatility in new CIO guide

Cloud budget overruns now average 23% as companies trade traditional infrastructure ownership for consumption-based models. With 75% of IT spending shifting to operational expenditure by 2026, the promise of flexibility has evolved into a significant financial risk, forcing CIOs to rethink how they manage technology investments.

Sopra Steria Next has released a new edition of its CIO Compass, identifying five operational levers to stabilize IT spending over the next two years. The firm argues that the shift toward AI, SaaS, and cloud infrastructure requires a departure from rigid annual budgeting. Instead, organizations must implement real-time FinOps discipline to prevent budget creep, while simultaneously integrating GreenOps to treat CO2 emissions as a core financial metric.

The framework also advocates for a transition to continuous funding models, allowing resources to pivot alongside evolving business priorities. Beyond financial mechanics, the strategy emphasizes limiting vendor dependency to protect critical data and measuring IT value through specific usage metrics—such as cost per transaction or AI workload—rather than broad asset acquisition. As AI adoption accelerates consumption-based costs, the report warns that failure to formalize these management capabilities will leave firms unable to contain ballooning infrastructure expenses.