"Pay as you go" Services Key to Making IT
Matter for Business
February 18, 2004
Saugatuck Technology founder Bill
McNee presents "C-level" survey data and insights at CFO magazine
conference to rebut recent hype on the declining business importance
of IT.
New York City, NY (PRWEB) February 16, 2004--Software and services are
key elements of IT that enable businesses to differentiate themselves,
and therefore will continue to provide tremendous competitive
advantage, according to research presented by Saugatuck Technology
founder and president Bill McNee.
McNee presented current Saugatuck research as part of a panel debate
at CFO Magazine's "Excellence in Finance: Corporate Performance
Management" conference in New York City on February 9, 2004. McNee�s
remarks rebutted assertions by fellow panel member Nicholas Carr,
author of the Harvard Business Review article �IT Doesn�t Matter,�
which suggests that IT is now a commodity, and no longer a strategic
resource that can be leveraged for sustained competitive advantage.
"IT definitely matters to business, as both a strategic and tactical
set of tools with which a differentiated business strategy can be
deployed,� McNee stated. "Unlike commodity IT infrastructure, software
and IT services can create sustainable advantages by enabling and
supporting business strategies that differentiate firms from one
another. They are key elements of IT that allow firms to configure
processes, as well as other IT assets, in a way that electric power,
telephones and other so-called 'utilities' cannot."
McNee�s remarks were based on recent Saugatuck surveys of CFOs and
CIOs regarding the business value of IT and utility computing
offerings, including "pay as you go" (PAYG) IT services. Saugatuck's
research suggests that "pay as you go" IT services can provide
exceptional business value by:
- Enabling a flexible business IT
and application portfolio, allowing the enterprise to retain only
those assets that enable and support differentiated business
strategies;
- Enabling a continued focus of IT
assets on core business value created by the firm;
- Selectively outsourcing
non-value-added IT assets; and
- Managing those outsourced IT
assets cost-effectively, and defensively, to minimize risk.
"While much of IT can be managed
defensively, I believe we are only in the 4th or 5th inning in terms
of how IT can be used to innovate in business. In this regard, utility
computing, especially through 'pay as you go' IT services, is really
all about achieving true business differentiation, and focusing on the
most important tasks and opportunities at hand," McNee concluded.
PAYG Research
Saugatuck's PAYG research program, entitled "Pay-as-you-go IT: Where's
the Business Value?", examines not just the costs and benefits of
vendor-provided IT and business services in the emerging "on demand"
workplace, but the underlying user business and IT management factors
and beliefs used to evaluate, justify, purchase and utilize such
offerings. The project was developed by Saugatuck Technology in
partnership with CFO Research Services, and is being executed by
Saugatuck Technology.
About Saugatuck
The company uses a research-centric consulting model that combines
business planning and market assessment with first-hand research of
executive technology buyer trends. Founded in 1999, Saugatuck is
headquartered in Westport, CT (www.saugatech.com 1-203-454-3900)
The source of this news release is
PRWeb.
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