​One of the ongoing challenges IT/telecom professionals face on a regular basis is being bombarded by managers and end users with software and/or devices they claim to need. In some cases, they truly are needed and solve a real issue. However, in other cases it's more of a "nice to have" which can end up costing more than it's really worth.

How can you determine if that piece of technology your end users (or you!) are eager to deploy makes sense? Will it pay for itself? If so, how? And when?

These are questions that can be answered by taking the time to evaluate your ROI. Of course, the goal of calculating your return on investment is to, at a minimum, recoup the expense or, better yet, to be able to show that the investment will drive more revenue to the bottom line.

In short, conducting an ROI prior to a software or other technology purchase helps you:

 
There are plenty of articles and tools available to calculate ROI. Here are some key questions to ask yourself and your team as you evaluate new technology for your organization:

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Ultimately, no ROI calculation is 100% accurate. There will always be some "unknowns" in each equation. However, by including in all your review processes an ROI calculation you will have gone a long way towards making a more compelling case for (or against) each new piece of technology that comes your way. Over time, developing best practices in ROI calculation will save your organization time and money, and earn your IT department the respect and trust you deserve.