Sadin on Digital episodes explore the fast-changing and high-stakes world of digital business. Wayne Sadin focuses in particular on what CXOs and boards must do to lead their companies successfully into the Digital Age. In today’s episode, Wayne and Bob discuss the intricacies of IT budgeting, offering essential dos and don’ts for chief information officers (CIOs) navigating the ever-evolving tech landscape.
Episode 51 | Strategic IT Budgeting
The Big Themes:
- Integrated investment approach: Wayne advocates for aligning IT investments with broader company goals, urging against treating IT as a separate entity. This approach ensures that IT projects are evaluated alongside other investments, prioritizing those with the highest strategic value.
- Time allocation for CIOs: Wayne recommends that CIOs dedicate around 20-25% of their time to budget-related activities, including engaging with business stakeholders, discussing investment priorities, and strategic planning. This time investment is critical for ensuring that IT initiatives are aligned with broader business objectives.
- Comprehensive project costing: A transparent and comprehensive approach to project costing, where expenses are aggregated to provide a holistic view of total project costs can be beneficial. This strategy prevents budget overruns and facilitates better decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.
The Big Quote: “Don’t budget only for implementation. I see this all the time. If the project is going to be $10 million to put it in, what’s your first year, first 18 months of costs? People say my project is to put in Product X. Now when the product is done, there’s the ongoing cost — especially in the SaaS [software-as-a-service] world, that’s not insignificant.”
More from Wayne Sadin:
Connect with Wayne on LinkedIn or through his Analyst page.
