Special report: Tech budgets 2018: A CXO’s guide (free PDF)

This ebook, based on the latest ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature, analyzes our original research to pinpoint how organizations are spending their tech dollars in 2018 and what priorities they’re focusing on. It also offers advice on ways to build a practical and effective budget that supports the business.

From the ebook:

IT budgeting can be a painful process. There’s never enough money for all the organization’s priorities, running day-to-day operations is costly, IT is now being tasked with digital innovation (whatever that means), and despite all this, there are usually demands to trim the budget year over year. It all seems like a process that should be completed as quickly as possible to move on to the “real work.” However, that would be a costly mistake.

Follow the money
Willie Sutton, the famous bank robber, was supposedly asked by a reporter why he robbed banks, to which he responded, “That’s where the money was.” (Apparently the quote was fabricated by the reporter, but Sutton later used it, including it in an autobiography title.) Similar thinking is appropriate for the budgeting process: The IT and larger organization will ultimately place funding in the areas they see as priorities, so budgeting is a great way to validate whether your IT strategy actually mirrors the organization’s priorities. If there’s lots of flowery talk about the importance of security, digital, customer experience, or some other hot area, but no budget is available to back up the talk, the organization either places minimal importance on that area or has a minimal understanding of the benefits provided by that technology. The budgeting process ultimately allows you to see if the organization follows the old adage of placing its money where its mouth is.

Subscribe to the Executive Briefing Newsletter

Discover the secrets to IT leadership success with these tips on project management, budgets, and dealing with day-to-day challenges. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays

Subscribe to the Executive Briefing Newsletter

Discover the secrets to IT leadership success with these tips on project management, budgets, and dealing with day-to-day challenges. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays

Resource Details

TechRepublic logo
Provided by:
TechRepublic
Topic:
CXO
Format:
PDF