The U.S. economy may be on the upswing, but by no means have companies returned to the robust technology spending days that characterized much of the mid to late 1990s. When companies invest in network technology - whether it's been around for a while or just emerging from the lab - network executives must be prepared to show returns on the investment.

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"We're a very cost-conscious company regardless of the state of the economy," says Mark Brubaker, senior vice president of enterprise network services at Countrywide Credit Industries, a financial services company in Calabasas, Calif. "We always drive expenditures to one of two things: increasing the bottom line or reducing costs of our operations. Everything we do is scrutinized."

Brubaker says IT and network managers have to qualify their expenditures against the company's strategic goals and objectives. "I'm a firm believer that in 95% of companies, IT is still a cost center and not a profit center. The only way IT can contribute to the profitability of the company is by enabling profit centers within the company to generate more profits," he says.

Ed Mann, vice president of network technology at Prudential Financial, in Newark, N.J., says getting funds allocated is difficult unless a network technology can bring a near-term cost reduction or other measures of tangible financial return. "The technology has to show some kind of immediate payback," he says.

Mann is interested in deploying technology such as voice over IP, but must first develop a strong business plan. Prudential is focusing most of its efforts on disaster recovery and business continuity.

Technology managers "have to do a really good job of demonstrating the business value of whatever they do," adds Barbara Gomolski, research director at Gartner. "They need to develop some kind of metrics or systems that show the measurable returns of technology. They have to demonstrate the business benefits."

- Bob Violino

Photo subject: Carlos Leon, network operations manager at Contractors Register

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