As equipment finance looks toward 2027, opportunity is expanding. One crucial topic discussed was equipment finance modernization, as the conversations at this year’s ELFA Annual Convention revealed a more immediate challenge: ensuring that technology, operations and people can keep pace.
At ELFA’s 65th Annual Convention in Palm Desert, optimism about the future of equipment finance was easy to find. So were reminders of the work required to turn that optimism into sustainable growth.
Across conversations with finance executives, service providers and industry leaders, several themes emerged. Independent finance companies are finding new opportunities. Private capital is contributing to an evolving lending landscape. Artificial intelligence is beginning to influence how organizations think about productivity. And experienced leaders are increasingly focused on developing the next generation of equipment finance talent.
Each of these developments points to a common challenge. As the industry grows, lenders must find ways to manage greater volume, more complex portfolios and changing customer expectations without allowing operational costs and risk to grow at the same pace.
The numbers reinforce the opportunity. ELFA’s recently released 2026 Industry Horizon Report estimates that the US equipment finance industry reached $1.51 trillion in 2025, an 8.7% increase over 2024. Meanwhile, its September 2026 CapEx Finance Index reported year-to-date new business volume growth of 17% among surveyed companies.
The momentum is substantial. Capturing it will require a closer examination of how equipment finance organizations operate.
Growth is exposing the limits of existing operations
One encouraging observation from ELFA was renewed interest in independent finance businesses, new lending programs and expansion into adjacent markets. Industry participants also discussed how private capital is creating additional opportunities for specialized lenders and finance companies.
These changes introduce new demands on operating infrastructure.
A lender entering a new asset class may need different pricing, credit, residual management and servicing capabilities. A growing independent finance company may need to support higher transaction volume without expanding its operational staff proportionately. Organizations acquiring portfolios must reconcile different data structures, contract terms and operating processes.
Even established lenders face these questions as they expand vendor relationships, introduce new financing structures or reconsider technology investments made years earlier.
The challenge extends beyond the initial transaction. Origination efficiency has limited value if the resulting contracts require extensive manual intervention to book, service, report on or manage through end of term.
For equipment finance organizations evaluating their technology strategy, the ability to support the complete asset and contract lifecycle deserves as much attention as the speed of the initial credit decision.
AI is moving toward practical applications
Artificial intelligence was unavoidable at ELFA, appearing in conference sessions, exhibition conversations and nearly every discussion about technology.
What stood out in our conversations, however, was the specificity of the problems people wanted AI to address.
One industry veteran described how credit analysts can spend hours spreading financial statements, preparing credit memoranda and completing repetitive documentation. Another pointed to the administrative burden of preparing client packages and processing information across the deal lifecycle.
When asked which operational headache they would eliminate, one attendee offered a particularly recognizable answer:Â “the month-end jam.”
Anyone familiar with equipment finance understands the problem. Transactions accumulate as reporting periods close. Credit, documentation, funding and servicing teams face concentrated workloads, often while managing exceptions that require individual attention.
AI-assisted document processing, data extraction and workflow automation offer promising ways to reduce that burden. Yet month-end congestion also reflects how business moves through an organization. Automation cannot fully compensate for disconnected systems, inconsistent processes or inadequate visibility into pending work.
The greatest opportunities will come from applying intelligence within well-designed workflows, supported by reliable data and clear controls.
In secured finance, that means preserving underwriting discipline, maintaining traceability and ensuring that people remain accountable for consequential decisions. A faster process is valuable only when it also supports accurate, controlled execution.
There is growing evidence that customer expectations are moving in this direction. ELFA’s Industry Horizon Report found that 82% of surveyed equipment buyers would use a free, fully digital platform to manage the acquisition process, with application tracking, document verification and electronic signatures among the most valued capabilities.
Digital experience, operational efficiency and intelligent automation are increasingly connected parts of the same conversation.
Technology progress depends on people
One of the most encouraging sights at this year’s convention was the presence of first-time attendees and emerging industry leaders.
Equipment finance is a specialized business. Its complexity, terminology and operating practices are rarely taught extensively in traditional academic programs. Much of the expertise that makes the industry work is developed through experience, mentorship and years of understanding how financing structures behave in practice.
Another pointed to a deceptively simple frustration: different organizations frequently use different terminology for fundamentally similar financing concepts.
That inconsistency has consequences. It complicates training, makes technology integration more difficult and creates friction when employees move between organizations or when businesses combine portfolios.
As the industry grows, clearer processes, consistent information and more intuitive technology can help experienced professionals transfer their knowledge while enabling new employees to become productive sooner.
Nick Saban’s convention keynote offered a useful perspective on this challenge. His emphasis on preparation, discipline, accountability and continuous improvement reinforced something that applies directly to equipment finance: sustained performance comes from the standards organizations establish and the consistency with which people execute them.
Technology can support those standards. Leadership and organizational culture determine whether they become part of everyday operations.
What will distinguish equipment finance leaders in 2027?
Our conversations at ELFA suggest that modernization decisions are becoming more closely connected to business growth.
Organizations are reassessing their technology as they enter new markets, expand portfolios, pursue acquisitions and work to improve customer experiences. In many cases, those decisions involve long-standing systems that continue to perform important functions but were never designed for today’s expectations around connectivity, digital engagement and information access.
Modernization must account for those realities. Replacing established infrastructure carries risk, particularly when complex portfolios and specialized workflows are involved.
At Solifi, we believe the strongest approach begins with reliable execution of core equipment finance operations, greater connectivity across data and workflows, and practical intelligence that helps teams make better decisions.
That is the direction behind our connected platform for secured finance. It allows organizations to approach modernization around the needs of their business, improving individual workflows while working toward greater visibility and connectivity across the lending lifecycle.
Different organizations will take different paths. Some will prioritize origination and dealer experience. Others will focus on portfolio management, servicing, integration or the retirement of aging infrastructure. The important consideration is whether each investment improves the organization’s ability to operate and grow.
ELFA’s convention theme, Invest, Empower, Expand, captured the industry’s confidence about the future.
Looking toward 2027, the opportunity is considerable. So is the responsibility to build organizations capable of supporting it.
For equipment finance leaders, a useful question to carry forward from Palm Desert is straightforward: Where does growth create the most friction in our business, and what should we change before that friction becomes a constraint?
The organizations that can answer that question, and act on it, will be better positioned to turn the industry’s momentum into lasting performance.
Explore Solifi’s approach to equipment finance https://www.solifi.com/equipment-finance/ and the technology supporting more connected, confident operations.