Case Study: How to win friends and influence business people: Quantify IT Risks and Value

Do you agree with the notion that IT investments can be treated in the same manner as financial investments and similarly quantified by putting a dollar value to them? Why or why not? Would your answer change depending on the type of IT investment under consideration?

I do agree to the notion that IT investments can be treated in the same manner as financial investments. The reason is that we almost follow the same route in making both the investments and the intended outcomes, profits and increased productivity, are also similar. When you make a financial investment, you look for where to spend your finances. You make an analysis of the market and look for the best alternative. In the same manner, in an IT investment, you make a market analysis and chose the best IT alternative.

I do not think that IT investment can be related to dollar value. The reason is that we cannot quantify the exact impact that an IT investment can make. In the form of financial investment, we do have numbers that can help ups make accurate predictions over the future.

My answer would not change depending on the type of IT investment under consideration because IT investment have a similar nature of non-quantifiable nature.