Why developing good business cases and capturing real benefits is getting more important

Worldwide information technology spending will surpass $3 trillion this year, according to market researcher Gartner Inc. IT spending in 2007 will reach $3.1 trillion, an 8 percent increase from last year. Spending for 2008 is forecast to grow 5.5 percent to reach $3.3 trillion.

"On a worldwide basis, IT spending continues to grow at a rapid pace in developing countries," said Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president and global head of research at Gartner, in a statement.

"In fact, one-third of IT spending now occurs outside of North America, Western Europe, and Japan. This development will create new innovation in IT, new competitors, new usage patterns, and continued cost improvement benefits for users," he added.

This makes it especially important for organizations to develop good business cases and understand the value they are getting from their investment. IT spend is now a core and growing expenditure for most companies - so like any investment they need to know what they are getting for it. The business case is where this should be defined and understood.