According to Forbes, Anaplan’s recent research reveals that 99% of executives report their businesses facing negative consequences due to decisions based on inaccurate forecasts. The problem stems from organizations treating legacy finance technology as a fixed expense rather than considering the broader impact. Conventional wisdom suggests only replacing systems when maintenance costs exceed upgrade costs, but this approach misses critical hidden expenses. These outdated systems affect forecasting, budgeting, risk assessment, and other key financial functions across siloed information systems. The cumulative impact hits organizational competitiveness and value creation directly.
The real business costs nobody talks about
Here’s the thing – when companies only look at the direct maintenance costs of their legacy systems, they’re missing the bigger picture. And it’s a massive picture. We’re talking about lower productivity across entire teams, efficiency drags that compound over time, and poor talent retention because nobody wants to work with clunky old systems.
But the biggest cost? Poorly informed strategies. When your forecasting and planning tools can’t keep up, you’re essentially flying blind. How can you make smart decisions about market expansion or product development if your financial data is stuck in silos and takes weeks to consolidate?
The AI opportunity cost
Now here’s where it gets really interesting. Legacy systems can’t harness AI effectively. Basically, you’re leaving money on the table while competitors who modernized are using AI for predictive analytics and automated scenario planning. That’s a competitive disadvantage that doesn’t show up on any balance sheet but absolutely impacts your bottom line.
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Time to rethink the math
So what’s the solution? Companies need to stop doing simple maintenance-versus-replacement math and start calculating the total cost of outdated technology. That means factoring in lost opportunities, talent turnover, and strategic missteps. The research makes it clear – waiting until maintenance costs spike is already too late. By then, the hidden costs have already done their damage.
