The recent downturn in the economy and stock market has brought about a sea-change in IT investment decisions - which may extend well into 2003.

Gartner has found that buyer behaviours have changed, probably for the long term.

Projects fail, or stall, when the value of an initiative is not communicated in a way that is meaningful and clear to all stakeholders.

Enterprises are taking a much more deliberate approach to IT investment decisions, ensuring explicit criteria are agreed to before proceeding. CIOs and vendors must review how a shift to business requirements will change their audiences and value justification.

Infrastructure initiatives, increasingly driven by CFOs, require IT professionals and vendors to improve their business and financial skills to present valid, compelling business cases for each anticipated initiative.

As important is the need for an operating system to express the impact of the initiative in terms that resonate with the criteria of all stakeholders, internal and external.

To be successful, the business case for IT initiatives and IT capabilities must be presented in organizational, operational and infrastructure terms. By communicating in these three different languages at the same time all stakeholders will be better served.

* Stakeholders: Individuals within a company, its customers/prospects, and its suppliers responsible for organizational, operational, and infrastructure decisions and/or results.

Say What?

“CIOs should put at the top of their technology evaluations those IT vendors that have tools and methods for estimating business returns.”

Gartner

“Similar to the old question: 'If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make any noise?' one could ask, 'If IT undertakes an initiative, and fails to help management understand its value, does it have any value?'”

Chip Gliedman, Vice President of Research
Giga Information Systems

Online :-)

Operating Systems (OS) at Work

Value Proposition - Helping You Measuring Initiatives

Independent Research

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The best major business or IT initiatives will be created based upon business cases that are collaboratively developed by key stakeholders, internal and external.

Learn more about our framework and our supporting tools to help you measure initiative.