Summary

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The IT budget is a complex beast and can easily grow out of control if it is not managed properly. Large companies have specialized accountant staff to manage the corporate finances, but the system manager must keep a close eye on areas of the budget that fall within his responsibility. The budget is not just about budgeting for computer hardware and software acquisitions; it covers a much wider range, including the support and running costs, and the staffing and management of systems and associated administrative functions.

Increasingly, businesses are demanding a continuous service from their IT departments, which has placed increased pressure on the IT budget because system managers are often required to provide this extra coverage with little or no extra financial support. Larger companies may already have a computer operations section working on a 24x7 basis, and it is possible that the system manager may be able to make use of this resource for routine administration beyond normal business hours, backed up by on-call technical staff. The incentive for operations staff is that they receive valuable training and also open up further doors for potential career development.

The IT department can also earn revenue from the service that it provides by charging for its services. Use of the chargeback system allows the cost of providing the service to be apportioned to the various departments making use of the facilities. The other side of the coin, though, is that the level of service being provided to the customer will come under much greater scrutiny via service level agreements, which are discussed in Chapter 3, "Delivering the Goods."

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