Virtualization Newsletter
 
NEWSLETTERS
 

CIO.com updates, insights and advice on technology, management and your career.

 CIO BlackBerry News and Tips
 CIO Research and Analysis
 CIO Microsoft
 CIO Insider
 
 
 
LEADERSHIP
 
CIO Executive Programs
The Leader in Face-to-Face Education for Senior Executives

Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »

 
CIO Executive Council
A Peer-Advisory Service and Professional Association for CIOs

Public Council Teleconference: Application Rationalization — Hidden Costs and Smart Decisions

November 17 at 11:00 am US/Eastern (GMT-5)

Join Honorio Padrón, of The Hackett Group, who will share the drivers for companies to tackle application rationalization and the results of research that define the hidden cost of complexity. Additionally, we will discuss key decision milestones—to start or not, holding the course steady and fulfilling expectations.

Virtual Desktop Cost-Benefit Analysis — Michael Jacobs, Catlin Group

The analysis contained in this presentation measures the cost of everything from the machines and licenses to the infrastructure for virtual vs. traditional desktop environments.

Honor your best senior team members - Apply for the CIO Ones to Watch Award

Get well-earned public recognition for your top up-and-coming team members, your IT organization and your enterprise. Award winners will be announced, publicized and feted in May 2010, great timing to help attract new IT recruits to your company.

More / Register »

Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »



 
 
RESOURCE CENTER
 
 
 

Book Excerpt: Making Technology Investments Profitable

Want to inject some life into an otherwise subdued meeting about IT project selection? Take an emphatic stand for including ...

 

February 15, 2003CIO

Want to inject some life into an otherwise subdued meeting about IT project selection? Take an emphatic stand for including intangibles as a fundamental element of the decision-making process.

Intangibles are an emotional enigma to IT investment decision-making, and there are many different opinions on what to do about the nonquantifiable benefits put forth in defense of making an IT investment. Some of the typical opinions include, "They should be an integral part of credible IT project selection. They should be used as a tiebreaker only. Ban them entirely?they reflect wishful thinking. They are the only true decision factors and thus should drive everything." Not surprisingly, many decision teams, evaluation committees and business case members end up confused and frustrated concerning the approach they should take with such soft benefits.

Intangible has many meanings, depending on the context of its usage and the intention and viewpoint of the speaker. To a financial analyst, an intangible is an asset for which there are no generally accepted accounting standards that allow it to be quantified. "The premium we paid over the book value of our most recent acquisition is carried as an intangible on our financial statements." In that case, something is intangible by regulatory decree, as determined by government or industry regulatory bodies.

To a football fan, an intangible is that mysterious, unexplainable factor that enables one team to beat another. "Our team has always beaten the opponent whenever we’ve played on the home field. This gives us a real intangible advantage." In sports, intangible is a personal opinion, which may or may not be challenged.

To an IT project selection team member, an intangible is a benefit arising from a proposed investment that is not or cannot be expressed in monetary terms. "Implementing this IT project brings a key intangible benefit?a vastly improved image of our organization with its customers, partners, investors and future employees." Within the context of IT investments, intangibility is a hot, disputed and often confusing issue for the following reasons:

  • The definition of intangibility is widely misunderstood and thus often misused.
  • There is no central authority to decree a standard definition, so the opinions flow freely, whether they are informed or not.
  • Management thought leaders have conflicting positions on intangibles. Upon closer examination, however, those differences are often semantic.
  • IT project selection based on a business case analysis could often go one way or another, depending on how intangibles are handled.

Working Intangibles into the Decision

 
 
Loading...
 
WHITE PAPERS

Service Level Reporting and Communication

Service level reporting is the most visible output and often the most time-consuming activity in SLM.
 

Data Center Cost Analysis

Read this white paper to see how a server refresh can actually save money and meet green initiatives.
 

The Future Data Center

Building the next-generation data center requires a forward-thinking strategy that encompasses a broad range of new technologies.
 

Informatica Platform and Integration Competency Centers

Forrester used its total economic impact methodology to interview seven companies that have standardized their data integration practices.
 

8 Tactics to Combat Vulnerabilities

This white paper reviews 8 key elements of vulnerability management and provides advice on combating known vs. unknown vulnerabilities.
 

Tokenless Two-Factor Authentication In Action

Learn how this technology works, how to implement it, and compare it to other two-factor authentication solutions available on the market today.
 

WEBCASTS

Profit from Power Savings

Cut Costs & Green Your IT Operations with PC Power Management

Find out how and why 400 organizations have d...
 

CIOs Weigh In On Virtualization

Date: November 19, 2009 Time: 2:00 PM EST

Gary Beach, publisher emeritus of CIO magazine,...
 

Architecting Business Intelligence Applications for Change: The Open Solution

Architecting BI Applications for Change
 

Taking a Seat at the Executive Table: The Reality of Virtualization

This year, for the first time, the number of virtual machines is on track to exceed the number of physical machines...
 

Who Are the Data Center Leaders?

Today's data center is still very much a heterogeneous environment. Gabriel Consulting recently surveyed over 250 d...
 

Lower IT Costs with Oracle Database 11g Release 2

Learn how upgrading to Oracle Database 11g Release 2 can transform your business, budgets, and service levels
 

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notifications by topic when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library.

 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

Cut Costs & Green Your IT Operations with PC Power Management

White Paper: 4 Customer Service Myths

White Paper: Managed Security for a Not-So-Secure World

White Paper: 5 Best Practices for Smartphone Support

Global Research: CIOs Weigh In On Virtualization

5 Key Virtualization Management Challenges

Secure Email and Web-Based Communication from Evolving Attacks

WagerWorks Takes Fraudsters Out of the Game using iovation

Seven Design Requirements for Web 2.0 Threat Protection

Generation Remote Infrastructure Management - Changing the Paradigm

Cloud-Based Email Management: Opinion Shifts In Favor

eBook: How Can You Make Your People Productive Anywhere?

Achieving Business Agility with Application Grid

Ready to virtualize tier one applications? Check your virtualization maturity.

Seven Ways ITIL Can Help You in an Economic Downturn

Tips for successful virtualization management.

Unified Communications: Thoughts, Strategies and Predictions. Join the discussion

Read the RSA report: Security for Business Innovation

Webcast: Looking to the Cloud for Email and Collaboration Services

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

Keep your IT expertise up to date. Join the Intel Premier IT Professionals.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

The rules of infrastructure management just changed.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Webcast: Unleashing the Power of Customer Data

White Paper: Improve Agility with Operational Responsiveness

White Paper: Legacy Tools: Not Built for the Helpdesk

Taking a Seat at the Executive Table: The Reality of Virtualization

White Paper: Next Generation Remote Infrastructure Management

Keeping Your Members Safe from Online Scams and Predators

The Total Economic Impact of Network Security Intrusion Prevention

Join us at the US-Brazil IT-BPO Summit, on November 10th in New York.

Increase UPS efficiency without sacrificing protection.

Learn how advanced forecasting tools can deliver significant business results for global corporations.

Lower IT Costs with Oracle Database 11g Release 2

White Paper: Visibility and the New Normal of Mobile Work

Taking the Service Desk to the Next Level

Learn about The Information Technology Infrastructure Library.

Top Five CIO Challenges

Streamline IT Costs. Boost Performance with WAN Optimization.

Want to know how you can maximize employee productivity?

Build your 1st app FREE with Force.com

TDWI checklist helps define data readiness for analytics. Download report.

A new fleet of PCs with a total ROI in 10 months. Find your ROI.

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

Reduce risk, gain agility. See how Progress can help your business.

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity