Aggressively Pursuing and Communicating IT Value
Wed Mar 13, 2002 - Wed Mar 13, 2002
Views and attitudes about IT value are many and varied, and change over time in response to marketplace and competitive pressures. In most companies, IT has three roles - strategic partner, enabler and driver of cost reduction.Resources are applied to each role to reflect its part in achieving the enterprise's goals.Usually, the balance between these roles remains stable as does the value propositions behind them. That is until an unprecedented stimulus strikes a newbalance.The economic downturn, whichwas impacted by the September 11th terrorist attack, and the threat of further terrorism are two such examples.Each is having a significant impact on the enterprise's priorities and resources and, therefore, it is imperative that IT demonstrates and communicates its value to the organization.
For IT to gain a positive perception of its value, itmust pursue an aggressive three-part program. It must determine how it can best contribute to the enterprise's objectives and whether it is on track in doing so. Itmust measure its contribution in a manner which management can understand and relate to. ITmu st also convey its value add in terms that are meaningful to the rest of the enterprise. .
The group will discuss approaches and experiences in addressing these and related issues.Topics include:
Value is the impact that IT has on the performance of the company. Bob Benson, The Beta Group, will discuss the idea that the value of IT is primarily a communications and relationship problem. He will focus on the cause and effect between what IT does and the performance of the company. He will lay out principles of IT value and provide ways of implementing those principles to affect the communicating, messaging and relationship issues that underlie value..
Harris Corporation recently repositioned itself through divestitures, acquisitions, and centralization of
critical business support functions. IS was centralized and its roles and responsibilities redefined. The IS
Business Unit Leader function was formed to ensure business alignment and manage the customer
relationship. Methodologies were put in place to evaluate and strengthen relationships with Harris business units. Also put in place were systems and processes used to assess how IS performance is adding value to the organization, and to assess and communicate customer satisfaction with the service delivery and added value. IS Customer Relationship Maturity models for assessing organizational maturity and business alignment, as well as service performance statistics collection and reporting are part of their approach..
One methodology to determine the real value of IT investments is Hubbard Ross Applied Information Economics. It is the practical application of scientific and mathematical methods to the IT investment process. With a focus on helping executives make sound decisions, it provides a way to compute returns on intangible benefits, measure and manage risk, calculate the value of more, better and faster information, and decide whether to make the investment now or wait for the next big technology innovation. It replaces irrationality with meaningful measurements.
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