For PE Operating Partners Under Value Creation Pressure
The Tension That Every Operator Knows
A portfolio company’s CEO approves a technology expansion to accelerate revenue.
The CFO cuts discretionary spend to protect EBITDA before the next lender conversation.
The CIO advances modernization to reduce operational risk.
All three decisions are rational.
None of them align.
Value creation stalls in the space between them.
Nobody is hiding anything.
They are operating on three different definitions of “value,” and the board is left questioning why the strategic story and the financial story diverge.
This is the operating environment where PE firms lose time, lose confidence, and lose multiples.
You don’t need more technology.
You need financial governance that aligns technology spend to value creation levers, not internal preferences.
When IT Spend Is Dilutive to EBITDA Instead of Accretive to Value
Portfolio companies often show the same pattern:
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IT spend grows faster than revenue
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Transformation costs balloon
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Vendor footprints expand without scrutiny
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Cloud consumption outpaces usage
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Renewals rise with no evidence of value
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Cyber tools accumulate with marginal differentiation
Management presents it as “necessary investment.”
The PE firm sees it as multiple compression risk.
This isn’t a technology failure.
It’s a governance failure.
You choose JH Strategic IT when IT stops being a value driver and becomes a value drag.
When You Need Alignment Before the Next IC, Lender, or Board Meeting
Operators don’t have six months to run an assessment.
They need:
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clarity on spend
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clarity on capability
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clarity on where value is leaking
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clarity on which proposals matter
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clarity on where reallocation accelerates EBITDA
Timeline reality:
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debt covenant reviews,
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board cycles,
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lender presentations,
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value creation plan checkpoints,
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exit readiness windows
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You don’t have quarters.
You have days or weeks.
JH Strategic IT delivers rapid, finance-first visibility so your narrative and your numbers match before you walk into the room.
When the CIO Is Focused on Transformation and the CFO Is Focused on EBITDA
This is the most common tension in PE-backed companies:
The CIO wants modernization.
The CFO wants margin.
The CEO wants growth.
No one is wrong.
But without a governance layer, technology decisions dilute financial outcomes:
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capital misallocation
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overbuilt roadmaps
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vendor-influenced direction
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transformation without value thresholds
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cybersecurity spending without risk quantification
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cloud migration without consumption governance
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You don’t need an interim CIO to solve this.
You need a financial architecture for how IT decisions are made.
That’s where JH Strategic IT sits.
When Vendors Are Driving the Technology Agenda
PE operators know the pattern:
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MSPs recommend infrastructure expansions
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Cyber vendors inflate risk language
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Cloud providers normalize consumption creep
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SaaS providers increase per-seat costs
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Consultants upsell transformation programs
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Everyone claims strategic urgency
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No one ties spend to EBITDA contribution
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Vendors optimize for revenue.
CIOs optimize for capability.
PE firms optimize for enterprise value.
There is no alignment until someone independent governs the conversation.
JH Strategic IT forces spend justification through business outcomes and value creation priorities, not vendor roadmaps.
When Time, Not Technology, Is the Constraint
Operators don’t call because they lack technical understanding.
They call because they lack time to:
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validate proposals
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build ROI narratives
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align IT and finance
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create value creation thresholds
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pressure-test capability claims
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quantify risks to lenders
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clean up the roadmap
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eliminate waste before review
You choose JH Strategic IT when you need:
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14-day spend visibility
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reallocation opportunities
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risk scoring
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vendor justification
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capability-to-value mapping
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actionable governance
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clarity before capital moves
Execution takes time.
Governance creates time.
When You Need a Systemic Fix, Not a Technology Fix
Technology problems are almost never the issue in PE-backed companies.
Misalignment is.
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The CIO runs operations
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The CFO runs capital allocation
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The CEO runs strategy
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The MSP runs infrastructure
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No one runs governance
We build:
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the financial model for IT decisions
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the value thresholds for spend
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the reallocation logic for EBITDA expansion
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the risk translation model for boards and lenders
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the oversight framework that prevents value erosion
A Fractional CIO cannot do this.
A Big 4 transformation partner will not do this.
An MSP is not designed for this.
Governance is the missing layer between operators and outcomes
Decision Matrix:
When a PE Operating Partner Chooses JH Strategic IT
Situation | Choose JH Strategic IT | Why |
|---|---|---|
IT spend rising faster than value | ✔️ | Rapid visibility and reallocation |
Board/lender pressure increasing | ✔️ | Financial narratives, clarity, ROI |
Vendor-led roadmap | ✔️ | Independent review, no incentives |
CIO focused on modernization | ✔️ | Align to value creation priorities |
Need value creation acceleration | ✔️ | Capital discipline and prioritization |
Need operational execution | ❌ | MSP or internal IT |
Need part-time leadership | ❌ | Fractional CIO |
Need enterprise-scale transformation | ❌ | Big 4 |
Choose JH Strategic IT when financial alignment, not technical performance, is the constraint.
Summary
PE Operating Partners choose JH Strategic IT when:
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value creation requires financial discipline
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IT spend needs justification
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transformation requires governance
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vendors are shaping direction
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board pressure is rising
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timelines are compressed
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CIOs need narrative support
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CFOs need defendable numbers
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capital efficiency matters more than capability expansion
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This is not IT consulting.
This is value creation governance.
You drive the investment thesis.
We make the technology economics match it.
FAQ
Do you replace CIOs or MSPs?
No. We govern the financial and strategic logic they operate within.
How fast can you create clarity for reporting cycles?
Within 14 days. PE operators rarely have longer than that.
Can you work across multiple portfolio companies?
Yes. We provide a governance framework that scales across the holding structure.
Do you support value creation planning?
Yes. We map IT capability, spend, and ROI to value levers.
Can you vet vendor proposals and modernization plans?
Yes. Through capability-value alignment and cost-to-return modeling
Strategic IT Governance Resources
If you are evaluating IT spend, risk, or value under board or investor pressure, these resources explain how different situations require different governance responses.
Start With Decision Clarity
A clear decision framework for executives deciding between independent governance, internal IT leadership, vendors, or large consulting firms.
Executive Persona Guidance
How to translate IT spend into defensible financial narratives the board can challenge and approve.
How governance exposes operational risk, cost leakage, and execution blind spots before they hit the P&L.
How independent IT governance supports diligence, value creation, and post-close oversight across portfolio companies.
Core Services
A fixed-scope engagement that delivers a board-ready financial view of IT spend, risk, and value.
A rapid diagnostic for executives who need immediate clarity before a board meeting, renewal, or capital decision.
A structured program that installs permanent financial and operational governance over IT.
Ongoing executive-level oversight to keep spend, risk, and vendor behavior aligned with business outcomes.