Five Questions to Answer Before You Commit IT Budget Dollars

No matter how long a CIO has been on the job, it’s critical to get a fresh snapshot of the business when deciding where budget resources will be allocated. (For more on this topic, check out our feature article 2012 IT Investments: Leading CIOs Share Their Plans and our exclusive research report Where the IT Dollars Are Headed in 2012.)

Here’s a mashup of questions CIOs should be answering before making those decisions, courtesy of Phil Garland, U.S. CIO advisory services leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Craig Symons, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research:

1. Do I really understand my business (i.e,. IT)? Make sure you have a handle on your big-picture IT goals, and be able to link costs back to the business on a granular level.

2. Am I doing things as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible? Become familiar with the state of your business processes and determine where waste exists.

3. Where are the true opportunities to provide differentiation or value for the business? CIOs can have informed conversations with their business partners only if they really understand their cost structures.

4. Are you locking yourself in? Make sure you’re not making technology decisions that might compromise business agility and responsiveness.

5. Are you allowing your workforce to leverage the power of consumer technology? Don’t place constraints on employees, customers, partners or suppliers that can easily be overcome.