* Research from Alinean shows IT spending goes hand in hand with business performance gains
Anyone looking for more evidence that IT is not a commodity should turn to new research from Alinean, which shows IT spending goes hand in hand with business performance gains.
ROI consultancy Alinean’s analysis of 5,000 U.S. companies across 37 industries finds that the highest performing firms show a direct and positive correlation between increased IT spending and improved business performance. This is especially true of sectors such as oil and gas production, tobacco and cigarettes, retail, pharmaceuticals, and financial services and banks.
Value doesn’t come from the amount you spend, but how you’re investing it. According to Alinean’s findings, companies spend an average of 65% of their budgets on ongoing IT operations and support; 25% on migrations and upgrades to existing infrastructure, and 10% on new strategic initiatives.
The key is to spend less on ongoing maintenance and support and instead direct those dollars to strategic initiatives. “Companies that invest significantly in innovation to achieve bigger business goals and drive competitive advantage will become the market front-runners,” Alinean CEO Tom Pisello says.
What type of IT investment position does your company take? Alinean classifies companies into one of four quadrants: frugal leaders, investing leaders, investing followers, and frugal followers. To learn more about the characteristics of each type, check out the Network World article at https://www.nwfusion.com/careers/2003/0804man.html
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Assistance required: Network World is planning an upcoming series of articles about the biggest non-technical threats facing IT executives and how to turn those into opportunities. Yes, we’ve already thought of outsourcing, but need your help in identifying other topics to cover. Please drop me a line at aschurr@nww.com and let me know what you see as the biggest threat to IT leaders.
