Achieving Maximum Value From Information Systems: A Process Approach

The effective use of information technology is seen by many as the key differentiator between the successful enterprise and the mediocre although it has always been difficult to demonstrate the actual value of IT investment. However, this situation is no longer acceptable. Today, as management faces increasing pressure to cut costs and increase margins, even the most essential IT investment comes under scrutiny. Achieving Maximum Value from Information Systems argues that to realise business benefits successfully, technology must be carefully integrated with the business strategy of the enterprise and its corporate culture. The book then proposes a unique approach to this crucial process called Active Benefit Realisation. This involves continuous participative evaluation to manage inevitable changes in the business, and a shifting of the focus of information systems to the shared responsibility of a group of the main information systems stakeholders.

From the back cover:

The effective use of information technology is seen by many as the key differentiator between the successful enterprise and the mediocre although it has always been difficult to demonstrate the actual value of IT investment. However, this situation is no longer acceptable. Today, as management faces increasing pressure to cut costs and increase margins, even the most essential IT investment comes under scrutiny. Achieving Maximum Value from Information Systems argues that to realise business benefits successfully, technology must be carefully integrated with the business strategy of the enterprise and its corporate culture. The book then proposes a unique approach to this crucial process called Active Benefit Realisation. This involves continuous participative evaluation to manage inevitable changes in the business, and a shifting of the focus of information systems to the shared responsibility of a group of the main information systems stakeholders.

About the Author:

Dan Remenyi has spent more than twenty years working in the field of corporate computing and information systems as an IS professional, business consultant and end–user. He specialises in the areas of strategic information systems, measuring the effectiveness of information systems and technology forecasting. Michael Sherwood–Smith is Head of the Department of Computer Science at University College, Dublin. He worked for twenty years in data processing and management with international companies and has been a Project Director on European Commission research projects for ten years. He was formerly Chairman of the Irish Computer Society.