According to a recent Hackett CIO Update, "IT Does Matter" in today's competitive landscape.
The report says that world-class companies spend an average of 7% more per end-user and outsource with an eye towards increasing effectiveness and not cost-cutting. They also work from a portfolio or program management perspective, viewing IT as a whole system rather than a bunch of parts working together. In this way, effective managers can identify areas where IT is just a commodity function with little competitive differentiation and areas where IT investments will have a real business return.
Companies that consistently outperform their peers utilize IT more effectively, said Erik Dorr, a senior business advisor and one of the report's authors.
"This superior IT performance is actually only correlated with superior performance in other sales, general and administrative (SG&A) functions. A lot of CIOs still are fighting this battle with their management."
In other words, Dorr says "You can field the best technology available, run your department mean and lean, hire the best and brightest, etc. But, if you don't have management's backing and user buy-in, much of what you do will never make your IT shop's performance world-class."
For more information, visit http://www.thehackettgroup.com/insights/roi/
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