Measure the return

To measure return on investment effectively, organizations need to first

go back to their top objectives, set a baseline for each goal and then determine

a model to measure each.

Goals might include reducing help-desk call volume or improving the

ability of information technology staff to focus on more value-added tasks.

The increase in IT productivity, for example, might be measured by tabulating

the number of man-hours each staff member spent going out to user computers

vs. the amount of time they spend on the new system. It might also include

a before and after count of help-desk calls.

"Your ROI is going to vary depending on what the policies, procedures

and personnel requirements were before the new system and what is expected

of it," said Don Vincent, director of software development for Attachmate

Corp. "One thing's for sure, though: If you do the installation and maintenance

properly, you will see a sizable increase in productivity and efficiency."