Perhaps the best lesson comes from Rodric O'Connor, CTO at Putnam Lovell NBF Securities in San Francisco. When he wanted to sell to management the idea of consolidating five client databases to increase the efficiency of the firm's scattered sales team, O'Connor knew the productivity argument would never fly, even if he were right. "Do you say they will be 10 percent more productive? No. You say it will help them," he says. "I wouldn't risk my reputation by putting a number on it."
So he combined his clout with that of a top sales exec who also believed in database consolidation, and he got the go-ahead--using the sales unit's money. "You can't win an argument just pitting IT against the CFO," O'Connor says. "For non-cost-cutting exercises, you need to get executive sponsorship from the unit gaining the benefit."
Still, qualitative arguments like this one don't sit well with Dale Troppito, managing partner at The Gantry Group, a consultancy that develops ROI calculators for tech vendors and IT organizations. Troppito tells clients that everything can be measured. Even e-mail, which most companies deem a cost of doing business, can be justified by quantifying avoided costs such as long-distance tolls and FedExing. "I don't think a gut feel is ever appropriate," she says.
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