By the numbers: How data-driven capital planning boosts enterprise value

This IDC whitepaper, The Business Value of IFS Copperleaf, quantifies how leading energy and utility organizations are transforming capital investment planning to achieve measurable financial impact.

Based on IDC’s research with global asset-intensive enterprises, participants realized US$17.5 million in annual benefits per organization, a 469 percent three-year ROI, and an 11-month payback period by aligning capital planning with long-term strategic, financial, and ESG goals.

The study shows how data-driven planning enables teams to centralize investment data, justify funding decisions with confidence, and reallocate resources to maximize value. By using a transparent, consistent framework for evaluating opportunities, leaders ensure every dollar spent contributes directly to enterprise resilience and strategic outcomes.

These practices help organizations move from reactive, spreadsheet-based planning to proactive, enterprise-wide orchestration that strengthens financial performance, regulatory confidence, and strategic agility.

Key takeaways include: 

• Quantified ROI: Discover how organizations achieved a 469 percent three-year ROI, an 11-month payback, and an average annual benefit of $17.5 million through smarter, data-driven capital planning.
• Efficiency at scale: Learn how planning teams became 17 percent more efficient, saving an estimated $1.2 million annually by automating workflows and eliminating manual effort.
• Optimized capital allocation: Understand how value-based optimization generated $16.7 million in annual investment gains, improved capital shifting efficiency by 55 percent, and unlocked an additional $742,000 in net annual revenue.
• Regulatory and ESG confidence: See how transparent, defensible planning frameworks strengthen rate-case justification and align investment portfolios with long-term ESG and compliance goals.
• Enterprise resilience: Explore how AI-powered scenario modeling enables organizations to reallocate millions in capital rapidly, driving agility, stronger financial performance, and sustained enterprise resilience.