Summary

Demonstrating the business value of technology investments is becoming an integral part of most purchasing processes. Being able to find the strongest ROI is equally as important as finding the best technical approach. The basic ROI determination is fairly straightforwardtotal the costs, determine the benefits, and calculate the Time to Value. As with many other things that are simple in concept, the details are more complicated. A major challenge is projecting the benefits before implementation because they will be based on estimates rather than hard data. After implementation, there will be quantitative data available.

Assessing the potential benefits involves looking at as many different outcomes as possiblechanges in customer visits, transaction volumes, the size of orders, and the percentage of customers who return for further business.

Scrutiny of significant technology initiatives is being moved higher in most organizations, usually involving business managers with less technical expertise. The ROI is the way they evaluate and decide on key technology purchases.