The ever-increasing cost of information management (IM) is resulting in companies demanding demonstrable business value from their investments in information and communications technology (ICT).
IM portfolio management is emerging as the "Holy Grail" for achieving this through the effective prioritisation, balancing and allocation of resources.
This is according to Louis van Wyk, Business Unit Manager, Business Advisory Services at Business Connexion, who explains: "IM portfolio management enables organisations to manage the performance of ICT investments, thereby generating business value."
He notes that business value is not the same as ICT performance, although ICT performance influences the efficiency, effectiveness and rate at which value is realised. "The generation of business value is a function of managing IM performance to obtain optimal return on operational IM spend and generating business benefit by improving IM investments."
IM portfolio management therefore governs the application of all the organisation's IM/ICT resources, including capital, human resources and intellectual property.
Van Wyk says: "Generating business value starts with the ability to effectively measure and track the performance of both IM/ICT and the realisation of business benefit. This measurement capability must be integrated into the holistic IM planning and execution lifecycle (including the lifecycle stages of planning, executing, monitoring, evaluating and improving) to demonstrate the extent to which the value of ICT can be unlocked."
Therefore an IM portfolio management approach focuses on developing and implementing an IM portfolio measurement framework and providing the necessary systems support to enable measurement and benefit tracking in the operational environment. This capability then forms the cornerstone of future portfolio management endeavours including identifying opportunities to unlock further business value in terms of:
* Generating business revenue through improved IM operational performance, improved IM cost management, and cost avoidance by mitigating IM-related risk.
* Improving the return on IM investments.
* Improving the alignment of a company's IM investment with its business strategy.
Van Wyk concludes: "Many of our clients are now seeing the benefits of this approach in their operational environment and the nature of business value that has been unlocked has been strategic, tactical, operational and or in support of risk mitigation initiatives."
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