IT Portfolio Management: Unlocking the Business Value of Technology (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Robert Handler (Author) "Information technology (IT) is at a critical juncture in today's business climate..." (more)
Key Phrases: discovery portfolio, portfolio management solutions, key supporting processes, Research-Technology Management, John Wiley, Monte Carlo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Among the works that are aimed more towards business leaders, IT Portfolio Management is certainly one of the most accessible." (Business Digest, March 2007)

"Among the works that are aimed more towards business leaders, IT Portfolio Management is certainly one of the most accessible." (Business Digest, March 2007)

Review

"As most industries evolve, they become increasingly commoditized and IT industry is no exception. Aggressively investing in IT is the right answer in order to achieve competitive differentiation in the marketplace. Successful businesses have long realized that developing unique, innovative business and delivery models, as well as fostering a network of global partnerships is the optimal way to deliver the results that global customers are looking for. IT Portfolio Management provides an all-inclusive approach and methodology on how to balance and align IT and business, and generate superior value and returns from IT investments while mitigating risk."--Scott McNealy
Chairman and CEO
Sun Microsystems, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (April 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471649848
• ISBN-13: 978-0471649847
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #292,132 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential for all managers, February 1, 2006

By	Edward Hooban "Software Executive" (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There is absolutely no doubt that all enterprises, small or large, are completely reliant technology to operate. Companies have aggressively built and deployed IT solutions. My experience has been that most executives kind of treat this as a black box. They understand that there are major benefits to deploying various IT solutions (and they are right), but they don't really understand the how and the why. This is where this book comes in. I think that it is essential reading for executives, particularly those who are not strong in IT. Executives need to really understand the hard issues related to managing their IT portfolio -- how should they manage their IT portfolios. This book provides an excellent road map. It will show you how to evaluate your IT portfolio in a concise and easy-to-read manner. I'm big into charts and checklists and this book provides them. With a bewildering array of IT options and the difficult task of sorting and prioritizing, this book will serve as an essential guide.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for IT management, September 22, 2005

By	Charles T. Betz "www.erp4it.com" (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Paradigm shift is an overused term, but if there is a field in need of one, it is enterprise IT management. IT Portfolio Management presents the first detailed overview of an emerging, business-focused approach for managing all things IT.

If you only buy and read one book on IT management this year, it should be this one. The introductory summation of just how bad things generally are in enterprise IT is worth the price alone.

IT portfolio management ultimately presents the challenging idea of an overall, end to end value chain of IT investments, from initial idea inception through prioritization, delivery, management, optimization, and retirement. Handler and Maizlish propose the formal management of Discovery, Project, and Asset portfolios; their discussion of the Asset portfolio is a groundbreaking examination of issues that too many IT organizations are just beginning to face up to.

This well written book has detailed case studies from Cisco, In-Q-Tel, and Excel Energy, and much specific guidance in the form of checklists, charts, tables, and more.

I recently saw a figure of $800 billion per year for the combined expenditure on IT by US corporations. Given the massive size of this capital investment, it is very surprising how few substantive books there are written on its general issues. Technical publishing usually produces detailed reference guides that are soon obsolete; this book (like the recent _IT Governance_ by Weill and Ross) is in the smaller category of works that discuss more general issues of large scale IT management, and should have staying power far beyond the latest .Net tome.

If you are in IT management or concerned with the architecture of IT enablement systems - buy it. Now!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect management tool..., February 5, 2009

By	S. Holland (CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is well written and pefect for IT professionals that have service inmprovement duties.