Measure the return
To measure return on investment effectively, organizations need to first
go back to their top objectives, set a baseline for each goal and then determine
a model to measure each.
Goals might include reducing help-desk call volume or improving the
ability of information technology staff to focus on more value-added tasks.
The increase in IT productivity, for example, might be measured by tabulating
the number of man-hours each staff member spent going out to user computers
vs. the amount of time they spend on the new system. It might also include
a before and after count of help-desk calls.
"Your ROI is going to vary depending on what the policies, procedures
and personnel requirements were before the new system and what is expected
of it," said Don Vincent, director of software development for Attachmate
Corp. "One thing's for sure, though: If you do the installation and maintenance
properly, you will see a sizable increase in productivity and efficiency."