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October 19, 1998

Find Your Network ROI

By Monua Janah

early half of IT executives recently polled by InformationWeek Research say they think they're getting a high return on their investment in network infrastructure. The real trick is demonstrating to top management how the dollars and cents paid off. That's not always easy. Here are steps to make sure the return on investment of your network infrastructure is visible.

"Network technology should serve two purposes: to help our clients make money or save money," says Robert Belau, president of Predictive Systems, a network integrator. The first step is to define in quantifiable terms the business objectives of the network technology under consideration, Belau says. How will this network technology investment make money or save money (or both)?

piechart

The next step is to translate these business requirements into a technical solution that has the tools needed to gather the necessary data to prove that the business objectives are being met.

"By having the demonstration of ROI be an integral part of the project, it's much more likely to stay on track, meet objectives, and satisfy all parties involved," Belau says.

Most companies don't do a very good job at quantifying the business objectives and equipping their systems with instruments to measure success, he adds. "They describe these objectives at a high level, but not in a measurable way, so whether or not these objectives are met is open to wide conjecture and debate."

Return to main story, "The Cost Of Networking."

Illustration by David Flaherty