The IT Payoff: Measuring the Business Value of Information Technology Investments
A systematic, step-by-step methodology for assessing the value of technology investments and establishing a mechanism for an ongoing evaluation.Yesterday, IT budgets were approved on faith. Today, they're subject to relentless questioning—and in many cases, they are being slashed indiscriminately. But neither approach is achieving the most important goal: maximizing business value. The IT Payoff gives IT and financial decision-makers what they desperately need: a systematic approach to measuring the true impact of IT spending, and making rational technology investment decisions.This book's methodology addresses today's most critical issues in technology investment, including: identifying where technology can add the greatest value; timing the adoption of new technologies; and coordinating process change with technological change. The authors present a detailed case study, showing how a top healthcare provider used this book's methodology to transform their approaches to technology investment.The IT Payoffconcludes by outlining a complete action plan for the technology decision-maker: one that encompasses operational, strategic, and management issues, addresses partnerships throughout and beyond the organization, and can gain the full commitment of top management.* A breakthrough, start-to-finish roadmap for technology investment decision-making New, step-by-step techniques for quantifying the real value of information technology * Bringing "balanced scorecards" to the technology arena Capturing impacts that conventional approaches miss: process impacts, organizational impacts, and strategic impacts * Technology "S-curves": Sweet spots in the technology lifecycle Determining when a technology is most ripe for exploitation-and when to move on to the next * Evaluating the "conventional" approaches to technology cost-justification What works when: cost-benefit analysis, breakeven analysis, NPV, economic models, statistical models, and common sense models? * Coordinating process change with technology investment Making sure new technology and new processes work in tandem * Strategic IT: Applying technology where it will deliver the greatest business value Identifying the projects most likely to enhance organizational effectiveness * The unique challenges of e-business investment  Technology evaluation for today's new Web-centered environmentsIdentifying your best opportunities to add value through technologyAvoiding key pitfalls that lead to insignificant or negative ROIDeciding when to implement leading-edge technology-and when to jump off the technology curveDetailed case studies from healthcare and manufacturingNew metrics, detailed templates, and concrete action plansOrganizational issues that is valuable for financial professionals, IT decision-makers, line-of-business managers, and software clientsToday, nearly half of all capital investment is information technology related—and yet, decision makers still find themselves asking the most fundamental questions: Does technology really add value? If so, when? Where should one look for it? What's the best way to quantify technology ROI—and maximize it? If you're asking these questions,The IT Payoffgives you powerful new tools for answering them.Sarv Devaraj and Rajiv Kohli begin with a historical perspective on technology investment, reviewing the strategic role of technology, analyzing the key risk factors in technology investment, and helping you assess the limitations of your organization's current approach to decision-making.Next, the authors introduce a powerful new methodology for making funding decisions, show how their approach has been applied successfully, and demonstrate exactly how to apply it in your own business.The IT Payoffprovides specific templates, metrics, and other resources you can begin using with your very next project—tools that rationalize and optimize IT purchasing decisions, once and for all.