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Some interesting facts about the value of information systems management

Posted by micheal on 10 November 2006, 7:56 am

I have been revamping the content on the BDO website that relates to the area of information systems consulting, and one of the interesting things this has required was the development/research of “did you know” facts for the services we provide. They’re too good to lose so, in case they don’t make it through the content review process, I am blogging the research for posterity:

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

One industry study estimated the total cost to the US economy of data quality problems at over US$600 billion per annum (Eckerson, 2002).

According to Continental Research’s findings, 60% of employees spend on average 15 minutes per day searching for information; 15% spend around 30 minutes; and 7% an hour or more.

IT STRATEGY, PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE

Organisations that always use an IT strategic plan to guide IT investment reported that they receive 45% more business value from information technology than those that never use an IT strategic plan (Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts 2005)

That an IT strategy process must identify how information technology will support and enable the business to achieve its goals, and link to the business strategy in doing so.

IT GOVERNANCE, REPORTING AND POLICY

In the United States poor IT Governance is a breach of Directors’ Duties and will result in a qualified audit report on the business, as it is the responsibility of the directors to ensure that an effective business reporting system exists

Companies subject to the ASX Principles of Corporate Governance should consider IT Governance issues in structuring the board and in recognizing and managing risk from the business

TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION AND PROCUREMENT SERVICES

You should never select software on the basis of what it does and how it does it – rather, consider what you need to do and whether the software vendor will support you for the life of the software.

Selecting software on the basis of a product demonstration is not the recommended first step in selecting software.

PROGRAM AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The Standish Group shows that only 16% of software projects are completed on time and on budget. 31% of projects are cancelled before completion, and 53% of projects cost 189% of their original estimate (Standish Group)

That being ICT-aware, open to organisational transformation, and persistent in realising ICT benefits are the three leading factors in realising value from a business’ ICT investment

ICT BUSINESS CASE & FEASIBILITY STUDIES

Many businesses select new software based on “golf course” decision-making, and rely on fads, trends, and hearsay in selecting software, and then modify the business case to fit (CPA Australia IT Governance Guide 2005).

The business case should include the cost of decommissioning the technology and disposing of it at the end of its useful life.

WEB SERVICES

For an inhouse software development project, maintenance costs of the software are about 55% of the cost to build the software in the first place

Sixty five percent of Australian organisations have admitted to losing revenue due to poor data quality, as a result of not having the time or resources to address this problem, according to the results of an international research study by QAS (2005)