IT Financial Management Revisited

Time for a smarter and more joined-up approach

Funding, budgeting and financial management have always been an integral part of IT service delivery, but traditional ways of handling these have become increasingly challenged. The rise of cloud computing and the emergence of platforms that take dynamic infrastructure sharing to the next level, for example, have undermined asset and cost-centre centric accounting mechanisms. Meanwhile, DevOps based delivery, together with a lowering of procurement barriers and a shortening of delivery timescales, have disrupted many planning and governance processes. And overarching all this is an ongoing urgency to create ever-more business advantage.

Against this background, the research presented in this report, during which feedback was gathered from 50 CIOs, considers the current state of IT Financial Management (ITFM) and how ideas and solutions in this space are evolving.

Key research findings

Every CIO participating in our study said ITFM was a current priority for them.
Motivations are balanced, with an equal emphasis on better management of costs and maximising the contribution of value to the business.
ITFM is also seen as key to enhancing IT’s credibility with stakeholders and, where necessary, re-positioning the IT organisation from cost centre to revenue enabler.
But a range of challenges exist from business alignment and engagement, through visibility, planning and optimisation, to practical issues with tracking costs and assessing value for both existing systems and new solutions.
Priority areas cited for improvement include budgeting and planning, ROI/TCO modelling and supplier management, with an overarching need for stronger data collection, collation and analysis capabilities.
Most see a shift from generic office tools and the use of secondary features of generic systems to cross-platform solutions and specialist ITFM platforms. With a smart approach, investments in this area could be self-funding.
Beyond technology, a strong partnership between the CIO and CFO is seen as critical given the need for policy and process related transformation

Download the Research Report to read more…

Dale Vile

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Dale is a co-founder of Freeform Dynamics, and today runs the company. As part of this, he oversees the organisation’s industry coverage and research agenda, which tracks technology trends and developments, along with IT-related buying behaviour among mainstream enterprises, SMBs and public sector organisations.