[Manage IT Newsletter]

This issue explores how enterprise IT executives and managers can effectively manage IT to business value, despite the general lack of financial savvy that most CIO see in their teams.

Welcome to this months issue of the "Manage IT Newsletter." This monthly publication is dedicated to helping IT managers enjoy a richer career experience so they can reach their full potential.

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With warmest regards, Joe Santana,
Co-author Manage IT
http://www.manageitbook.com

P.S. If you were not able to attend our Hiring Plan Strategy Seminar, please take advantage of the free audio stream recording of this information, value-pack 60-minute program. Simply visit http://www.joesantana.com/Manageitmasters.htm
***************************In this Issue ****************************
* Focus Topic - Getting more out of your IT Investment dollars
* IT Management News & Trends
* Free Gift of the Month: Tips on how to manage IT projects for business value
* Closing Comments and Announcements
*********************************************************************

--------------------------- Focus Topic -----------------------------

According to recent surveys, demonstrating the business value of IT is one of the top priorities for IT executives. Not surprising when we consider the fact that as a line item that represents up to 9% of revenue in companies, IT expenses are one the single largest nondirect line items on the profit and loss statement. Many IT executives, however, admit to not having a solid IT investment practice in place primarily due to their belief that most of the people on their teams do not have the experience and background to manage to business value.

I recently spoke to top experts on this topic including Ruben Melendez Founder and CEO of Glomark, a company that specializes in providing training and tools that help companies measure and manage to business value, Tom Cissel VP of Operations Glomark and Jon Piot, COO of Impact Innovations a company that runs a successful IT investment optimization practice. According to these experts IT teams don't need financial savvy in order to effectively assess and manage to business value. What they need is policy, methodologies and tools that contain the much needed financial savvy. Here are some specific tips for IT managers:

* Establish a management forum as a place where business managers and leaders can discuss business and drive IT priorities.

* Implement a process to capture all projects and services and drive them through an evaluation/comparative value review

* Implement a project evaluation method that allows you to "score" each project so that you can properly assess and prioritize them from a business perspective.

* Obtain the right tools to enable you to forecast ROI, manage to business results and perform post-project completion assessments to determine how you performed against business case expectations.

To obtain, the most powerful business benefits you want to go beyond TCO and assess based on net business value creation models, such as Glomark's Total Value Creation (TVE). This is precisely where "tools and methodologies such as those offered by Glomark are really valuable in supplementing financial savvy and reinforcing best practices. (For more on this topic look for my upcoming TechRepublic CIO Community article).

In this issue of the Manage IT newsletter, we will focus on learning more about managing IT products and services as investments that drive business value and supporting this top CIO priority. In the "News and Trends" section of this issue, you will find useful articles loaded with ideas to help you maximize your IT budget. Your free gift of the month is a one-page summary of managing IT for business value tips, which includes a process chart provided courtesy of Impact Innovations. Finally, in the "Announcement" section, you will find your invitation to the May 13th 2003 Manage IT Masters Tele-Seminar, where you can join me and my guest Joshua Feinberg and Dave Lakhani for an information-packed discussion on IT Product Buying Strategies.

JS

-------------------- IT Management News and Trends -------------------
This month, we have a rich collection of articles that contain various perspectives on how to approach the maximization of IT investment dollars.

This article shows how there are no more stand-alone IT projects -- just business projects that involve people, processes and technology and points to how ROI should be evaluated for all three dimensions
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,78559,00.html

While CIO emphasis continues to be on cutting costs, there is also a focus on ensuring higher levels of information security, improving risk-management procedures and helping to foster more rapid business innovation according to this article.
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/itspending/story/0,10801,79395,00.html

This one page article contains eight steps that will take you from a cost-cutting model to a value creation model.
http://www2.cio.com/analyst/report725.html

This article shows how by taming business complexity, some organizations have moved beyond a cost cutting and cost savings mentality to streamlined, nimble operations through focused investments
http://www.optimizemag.com/issue/015/culture.htm

This sidebar piece presents a 90-day plan for battling business complexity
http://www.optimizemag.com/issue/015/culture_90day.htm

This piece shows why the ROI "payback-period," which is a popular, simple and useful tool may not tell you everything you need to know to make the best investment decision.
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/story/0,10801,78529,00.html

This sidebar article provides five tips on how to restructure a project to improve bad ROI.
http://www.darwinmag.com/read/030102/roi_sidebar3.html

A brief overview of the landscape of supplies that offer ROI modeling and measurement tools.
http://www.optimizemag.com/issue/016/roi_side.htm

How IT analysis firms help executives' select technology and plan strategy.
http://www.nwfusion.com/careers/2003/0317man.html?page=1

------------------- Free Gift of the Month ---------------------------
For your free one-page tip sheet that will provide you with a one page overview of key steps you need to follow to drive business value creation out of your IT projects, visit http://www.joesantana.com/freenewsandtips.htm

----------------- Closing Thoughts and Announcements -----------------

STILL HAVE A FEW SPOTS OPEN FOR THE MANAGE IT MASTERS TELE-SEMINAR: IT PRODUCT BUYING STRATEGIES 5/12/2003 at 1pm EST
Join us for a 60-minute tele-class hosted by Joe Santana, co-author of Manage IT and his guest experts Joshua Feinberg, Author of Getting More Value From Your IT Product Investments and Dave Lakhani, President of The Bold Approach. Learn how to secure the right resources and get the most for your IT product purchase investment dollars. To register, email Elizabeth Margaret at elizabeth_margaretaa@yahoo.com and type "register 5/13" in the subject line and body. The registration fee value is $20, but being offered free to our newsletter subscribers.

NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE THE MARCH 11TH MANAGE IT MASTERS STAFFING PLANS STRATEGY SEMINAR
If you missed the March 11th Tele-Seminar on staffing plans, I invite you to listen to the online recording. The program can be accessed free of charge at http://www.joesantana.com/Manageitmasters.htm
Join me and my guest Jon Piot COO of Impact Innovations and Bill Shulman SVP of EmployeeROI for 60-minutes packed with information you can use to design effective staffing plans for 2003 and beyond.

NEED HELP NEGOTIATING YOUR IT CONTRACTS?
Contact Dave Lakhani, President of Bold Approach at 208-863-8298 or visit his company on the web at http://www.boldapproach.com/

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT MANAGEMENT WITH JOE?
Visit www.ULiveandLearn.com and register for the IT Management webinar. This information packed program comes right to your desktop and offers you advice on one of your most important career decisions.

NEED HELP OPTIMIZING YOUR IT PROJECTS?
Visit www.impactinnovations.com and/or contact Jon Piot COO and author of "The Executive Guide to Information Technology."

NEED HELP WITH DEVELOPING YOUR IT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY AND GETTING THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE TO BUSINESS VALUE?
Visit www.glowmark.com and learn more about Glomark's TVE approach and Genius software products.

I hope you enjoyed this issue of the IT Managers Newsletter and I look forward to continuing to serve you.