October 10, 2005 (Computerworld) --
Jay Rollins wants to rein in unnecessary spending. He wants to leverage the size of his company to get better prices and services from vendors. And he wants to clearly articulate how technology projects help his company reach its strategic goals. So Rollins, vice president of IT at Churchill Downs Inc. in Louisville, Ky., now requires business cases for proposed IT projects. He says the requirement will help the company better analyze risks, predict successes and hold executives accountable. "I'm looking at it for the betterment of the business," Rollins says. These days, IT and business executives are often asked to build business cases to justify technology initiatives, and many are making developing the business case part of their standard operating procedures. "The CIOs I talk to are much more aware that IT is expensive, and if you're going to use it properly, you have to have a plan," says John Hummel, enterprise CIO and senior vice president of information systems at Sacramento-based Sutter Health, a nonprofit holding company for 65 heath care organizations. Business managers normally take the lead in developing business cases for projects that benefit their departments, even though there may be a large IT component. But building a business case is a group effort, and IT leaders need to know how to contribute. Moreover, on certain projects such as infrastructure improvements that benefit the entire company, the business case may require an IT lead. Crafting such formal analyses isn't easy, particularly for department leaders who are busy handling day-to-day operations. "It's very difficult to put together a good business case," says Christopher Kowalsky, senior vice president and CIO at Education Management Corp. in Pittsburgh, one of the country's largest providers of private postsecondary education.
It takes time and resources, a deep understanding of the technology and how to scale it, and a clear view of how the project meshes with other priorities in the organization, he says. Here are seven steps that should help you efficiently build a solid business case: 1. Understand Your Business Goal IT leaders say a strong business case forecasts costs and savings, details expected benefits and risks, and clearly shows how the proposed project fits with the organization's strategic vision. "You shouldn't think of [the project] as an IT improvement. You should be thinking of it as enhancing a business benefit: What benefits are you providing to the core function of the organization?" says Charles Maxson, CIO at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. Hummel understands that his technology initiatives must pass a high bar to get the green light. After all, he says, they're competing for funding against requests to
"This pilot fish works at a telco that provides DSL hardware access to ISPs. Total number of users: in the..."
Read more...
"User stops at the desk of this pilot fish and informs him that the mouse and keyboard on the user's..."
Read more... Read more Management posts or See all Blogs
If you're like our 7,000 survey respondents, your paycheck this year has been flattened and your bonus obliterated. We offer 12 ways to plump up your paycheck.
By helping Intel with loosened 'Vista Capable' requirements, Microsoft 'severely damaged' its credibility, said an HP exec in a newly unsealed Feb. 2006 e-mail.
Turning information into a Competitive Advantage View this webcast now! Go to the webcast
SaaS Solutions for Remote Systems Management
Download this Technology Briefing, free, compliments of Dell. (Source: Dell) The benefits of Software as a Service (SaaS) are extending their reach into systems management. So in addition to the more obvious cost control and rapid application deployment benefits, SaaS can be instrumental in filling needs for compliance, security and business continuity - all the while reducing costly infrastructure. Learn more in this brand new Technology Briefing. Download this executive briefing
The Importance of Application Management
Get this white paper now! (Source: Dell) Efficient desktop application management is essential in normal day-to-day operations of any company. Whether you are introducing a new application or implementing an OS migration, the goal is the same: minimize disruptions and ensure user productivity throughout the process. Download this white paper
White Papers
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
With an estimated 40% of the world's information now residing behind a firewall, employee productivity is driven by the ability to quickly find key information no matter where it's stored across your organization. At Google, we believe in a simple premise: all of the information you need to be productive at work should be available through one search box, giving users real-time access to content across the enterprise and delivering a single, integrated, secure set of search results.
Moving to Windows Vista: The Promise, The Reality
IDG survey says...that while migration to Windows Vista looms inevitable, the road is fraught with challenges from application compatibility to integration issues to upgrade costs. Fortunately one company is stepping up with solutions and services to help manage Vista in a mixed environment and to automate key aspects of that management chore. View this webcast. See more Webcasts