ANALYZING INVESTMENTS IN OBJECT-ORIENTED MIDDLEWARE : AN OPTIONS PERSPECTIVE May 2000

Recognizing the inadequacy of traditional cost/benefit analysis for evaluating information technology (IT) infrastructure projects, research in technology investment suggests the efficacy of taking a real options perspective for evaluating such projects[11, 24]. Option pricing methods (OPMs) help management properly evaluate the opportunities created by IT investments, and are suitable for assessing the value of different types of IT projects including infrastructure projects, software prototyping, decision support systems, and technology standard-based projects. In this research, we view the undertaking of an investment in an IT infrastructure project as an action that allows the firm to obtain a real option on contingent future opportunities through additional follow-on projects. Specifically, we examine the extent to which useful managerial insights can be derived from using a real options perspective for assessing the value of investments in object-oriented (OO) middleware technology. We argue that much of the value of such an investment comes from the potential of follow-on projects that are made possible by utilizing this technology. Such benefits can only be assessed by characterizing IT projects as stages in an overall development strategy and explicitly recognizing the potential value of follow-on projects. OPMs provide a useful and appropriate mechanism for such an assessment. _____________________________________________________________________________________

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