Technology and information have become so important to how companies operate that even small changes can dramatically affect many areas of the business. This reality is reflected in the amount of IT assets accumulated over years due to large IT budgets, often second only to payroll in size. How many of these assets are still underleveraged, for whatever reason? What impact on results would an across-the-board 10 percent increase in return on IT assets (ROA) have?
Clearly, the stakes are high. And yet, IT is often seen as a simple support function or an expense ripe for outsourcing. It is rarely seen as an enabler or creative pathfinder for the business.