IT Payoff, The: Measuring the Business Value of Information Technology Investments

Chapter 2. The IT Pay off Paradox

	“We see computers everywhere except in the productivity statistics.”
	--Robert Solow, Nobel Laureate in Economics

Webster’s dictionary defines a paradox as a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true. Is IT payoff really a paradox? Some of the evidence does seem to point to this conclusion. While millions of dollars get siphoned off to IT projects in the hope of improved performance, the payback from these is not in line with expectations. Proponents of the paradox argue that the link between investments in technology and organizational performance has been inconclusive. While some companies seem to provide anecdotal evidence of positive payoffs, several others ...