Understanding the Value of IT.

14 In the late 1990s, the wealth of nations rose and fell based on their abilities to participate in the so-called “new economy.” The new economy, of course, was fueled by information and communication technologies. Less than five years later, we no longer hear of the new economy, most of the world languishes in recession, and a sharp debate has begun about how much information technology is enough.1 Higher education’s investment in IT has achieved both unprecedented scale and breadth. In just one short decade, terms like enterprise resource planning (ERP), wireless networks, and courseware have become as common a part of our vocabulary as library, student union, and athletic field. The past decade has seen the widespread consolidation of academic and administrative computing and the rise of the chief information officer (CIO) as a vital member of the campus leadership. Technology projects now approach bricks and mortar as the largest investments a campus will make. It is hard to find a campus today not investing tens of millions of dollars in a new ERP system, a network upgrade, or another IT project. If you doubt how intrinsic technology has become to the life of a campus, you need only observe the paralysis that ensues when the campus e-mail goes down. As technology has assumed a large and more vital role on the campus, it has also come under greater scrutiny. With millions of dollars at stake and institutional and executive reputations at risk, campus leaders are paying more attention than ever to their IT choices. Executives are routinely asking, ■ Why do I need to make this particular technology investment? ■ What benefits will the institution realize? ■ Am I spending too much on technology? ■ How much technology do I need, and why? Few would debate that significant investment in technology is required just to be an institution of higher learning in the twenty-first century. The decision then becomes how much, which technologies, and to what purpose. EDUCAUSE and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), with the support of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGEY), Gartner, Microsoft, PeopleSoft, and SAS, convened a two-day meeting in April 2003 of 70 leading CIOs and chief business officers (CBOs) to explore the value of information technology. The group assembled to discuss the following issues: ■ What is IT value and why is it important? ■ How can it be measured and communicated? ■ How can decision making about IT projects be improved? The group’s work took place in the CGEY Accelerated Solution Environment, a place and facilitation methodology designed for deep immersion and rapid problem solving. This article presents the major conclusions reached by the attendees at the IT Value Forum and suggests a direction in shaping the industry’s discussion of information technology’s role and utility in the academy. Understanding the Value of IT