June 16, 2015 - Arlington, Massachusetts

Our tenth annual survey on IT Trends looked at how companies invest in information systems. According to author Dennis Adams, "On one hand, there are systems designed to make money. These "make money" systems serve to increase sales revenues. On the other hand, there are systems designed to save money for organizations. The "save money" systems typically focus on labor-saving uses of IT. In recessions, we tend to see more cost-saving systems implemented. Many economists suggest that such systems were the root of the jobless economic recovery."

When we asked survey respondents about make-money versus save-money systems, "over half of them believe that make-money systems are viewed as more successful than their save-money counterparts . This makes sense. Obviously, most companies are in business to make money. These systems, however, are more risky to deploy than save-money systems. Regardless, the result is that many feel that money made is "better" than money saved. On the other hand, many companies (about half) appear to not regularly calculate the ROI of IT projects. The result is that even though make-money systems are viewed as more successful, it's not clear whether companies really know if the systems are indeed successful."

* Excerpted from "The IT-Led Recovery: The Impact on Jobs and Systems," () Cutter Benchmark Review, Vol. 15, No. 1