While most of us worry about IT's strategic impact (does IT really matter?), events have turned again to require that we worry about IT's cost. There's little doubt that IT does matter in many industries. However, when times get tough, management's attention returns to the issue of cost.
Here's the problem. Generally, we don't understand IT's cost. Many CIOs cannot answer the following simple questions.
What are our five highest-cost applications -- and what does each really cost?

