Flexera CEO Mike Jerich says AI spend visibility is key to growth

Flexera’s recent State of ITAM report found that complete visibility across the IT estate fell to 36%, down 7 percentage points year over year. Additionally, only 31% of organizations have visibility into their AI software, while 59% reported an increase in wasted AI spending. Jerich argued that traditional metrics like token consumption are insufficient; instead, leaders should focus on the cost per completed task or successful outcome. This shift requires real-time financial guardrails and clear accountability, rather than annual budget reviews.

The company positions its Flexera One platform as a system of intelligence for managing technology spend and risk. By integrating IT asset management, FinOps, and AI cost management, Flexera aims to provide a single trusted view for CFOs and IT leaders. Jerich stressed that the goal is not to restrict employee experimentation with tools like ChatGPT or Claude, but to make that usage visible and intentional to reduce redundant purchases and scale successful use cases.