BG&A in the media [#2] - Forbes France January 2025

Forbes France x Medias France

Original link (in french) : https://www.forbes.fr/mediasfrance/blanc-gay-associates/

Blanc Gay & Associates: unique expertise at the crossroads of IT and finance

This independent IT financial management consultancy has established itself as an indispensable partner for large companies in their technological and budgetary transformations.

The best of both worlds

Blanc Gay & Associates (BG&A) fills a gap in the management consultancy market by combining financial rigour with technological understanding. With offices in Berlin and Geneva, BG&A supports large companies facing the crucial challenges of technological transformation. Managing exploding IT budgets, optimising costly processes, justifying technology investments to stakeholders: digitalisation has become a strategic priority, yet finance departments and IT departments often struggle to align economic objectives with IT operational requirements.

BG&A responds to these challenges with a comprehensive and often tripartite offering: the consultants work hand in hand with the client and its strategic consultancy to provide an overall, long-term vision of the project. This includes budgetary and contractual management of technology projects to rationalise existing costs, the creation of convincing financial business cases, and support for key organisational transformations, such as migration to the cloud or network modernisation. This unique positioning, halfway between strategic and operational consultancy, means that we can offer tailor-made solutions, far removed from the standardised models of the big firms. It's a pragmatic, personalised approach that our customers cherish, supported and mentored by experts who are an integral part of their team.

Tailor-made support for a successful IT transformation

When Alexandre Gay founded BG&A in 2022, he was already a recognised expert in the strategy of financial models applied to technology. His career, during which he headed up the European M&A advisory division of a Nasdaq-listed company and advised some of the world's largest corporations, led him to make a surprising observation: no firm offers genuine 360° support for IT transformation. ‘Clients are often faced with compartmentalised approaches, either overly technological or strictly financial, which fail to take account of all their strategic challenges’, explains the founder of Blanc Gay & Associates.

The company got off to a flying start: in just 2 years, BG&A established itself in four key markets - Geneva, Berlin, London and Paris - and built up a multidisciplinary team of experienced consultants and promising young talent.

This multicultural team, united by a deeply human vision of business consultancy, has been rigorously trained in the dual culture that is so precious to BG&A. As a result, companies from all over the world are supported by niche experts who have a thorough understanding of the issues facing their market. It's a reassuring and innovative framework within which to bring the most ambitious transformation projects to fruition.

IT management: optimising costs, transforming sustainably

At BG&A, each consultant follows his or her project from start to finish to ensure a thorough understanding of the company's needs and seamless execution. BG&A is often called upon to support major technology investment decisions (or budget cuts), and always thinks in the client's interests, without using a ready-made recipe. As Alexandre Gay explains: ‘IT must serve the business, we don't do IT for IT's sake’.

At BG&A, a business case is not limited to a simple financial calculation, but includes an analysis of costs, operational impact and return on investment. For example, for a global financial services provider, BG&A developed a detailed budget forecast by identifying inconsistencies in IT cost forecasts. This led to a technology upgrade proposal and commercial negotiations that resulted in a 10% cost reduction.

In addition, during a Cloud/DC transformation for another client, BG&A orchestrated the end-to-end financial strategy, obtaining approval for a substantial investment while respecting budgetary constraints. Within three months, substantial savings were achieved thanks to close collaboration with the IT, finance and sales teams.

This overview and dedicated support continues every day, as Blanc Gay & Associates also manages IT infrastructures on a day-to-day basis, speaking the language of both IT architects and financiers.