What they're saying about the Valuation of Information Technology
Harvard
Business School, Working Knowledge
"As volume two in the publisher's ambitious new series on financial management,
this step-by-step guide does an admirable job of outlining techniques for
creating shareholder value in an area that is too often subject to luck and
hapless guesswork. In so doing, the author, who is head of the IT Strategy
Group for PricewaterhouseCoopers, demonstrates interactions among computer
science, corporate finance and market research. Aimed at financial analysts,
technology executives and venture capitalists, the book's quantitative approach
- with examples from a number of IT success stories as well as failures, along
with charts and graphs - shows readers how to build a technology system that
enhances shareholder investment without neglecting other imperatives of the
firm."
Stephen B. Bonner
President and Chief Executive Officer, Cancer Treatment Centers of America
"Information and technology are transforming commerce and
challenging traditional valuation methods. The Valuation of Information
Technology builds a bridge between familiar
valuation, grounded on customer value, revenue, cost and earnings
contributions all on the one side, and the returns available in the
new information technology context on the other. With these
tools, added to thoughtful application and
judgment you will be a wiser leader, investor and consumer."
Dr. Rainer Famulla
Partner, Accenture
There are lots of companies that can be sunk by a single sizable misjudgment
in the area of information technology. This is obviously true in computer
companies where this is the heart of the business, but it is also increasingly
true in financial institutions and in information business. Chris Gardner's
book comes at the right time for many businesses which can no longer afford
the guessing or the hip-shooting that has been the solution algorithm in many
companies. He points out the systemic thinking that is possible and
the discipline that is required to tackle the issues in a sound, responsible,
and competitively superior way.
Tom Gardner,
The Motley Fool (Fool.com):
"An insightful, rewarding evaluation of information technology -- with the
aim being the creation of shareholder value. Chris Gardner's detailed work
shows how powerfully constructive and destructive the forces of innovation
can be. Mastering information technology is the key to 21st century commercial
success. This book is a driver toward that mastery."
Khasha Mohammadi
President e-Networks and formerly of Bell Labs
"The Valuation of Information Technology tackles the tough problem of defining
the value of new technologies for company shareholders using integrated
analytical techniques. The methodologies presented
in the book are essential to any successful new business
development. Its insightful process is the best model for IT evaluation.
I highly recommend it."
Frank Ostroff
Author of The Horizontal Organization
"Clearly we have entered an era where
many organizations are making "bet the company" investment
decisions in information technology and the Internet. Unfortunately,
many of these investments are made on an emotional basis alone. The
Valuation of Information Technology provides a significant advance
in our ability for making these decisions on a more thoughtful, analytic basis."
Derek R. Reisfield
Vice Chairman Luminant Worldwide
Formerly President CBS New Media, Chairman Marketwatch.com, and Member
of the Board Sportsline USA.
"One of the most important issues facing managers today is how to properly
value the impact of technology and how it translates into shareholder value.
This book provides a practical, step-by-step approach for analyzing the attractiveness
of an information technology system...Highly recommended."
Dr. Mel Schwartz
Nobel Laureate in Physics 1988
Professor Emeritus, Stanford and Columbia Universities
"This is the first book which I have seen that places corporate decision
making on a logical and quantitative basis. Decisions which have
traditionally been done by the 'seat of the pants' are subjected to the same
rigorous analysis as is routine in the hard sciences. The methodology permits
variations in input parameters and and allows for effective modeling. I think
this book strikes off in a completely new direction and deserves to be read
by anyone contemplating a career in business."
Peter Sprague
Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Wave Systems
Former Chairman of National Semiconductor
"Finally - a clear set of tools for those of us who are trying to find a path
through a jungle of complexity. The multiple variables at the core of today's
Information Technology require more than inspired intuition for navigation.
Chris Gardner has clearly and crisply provided a roadmap of rationality to
help direct our path through a chaotic world of accelerating change."
Jim Szafranski
Marketing Manager, Tut Systems
"For the first time, The Valuation of Information
Technology marries corporate finance with technology marketing to create a
technology decision guide focused on what matters most - shareholder value."