How much does information technology management really cost?

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Thu, 01/18/2007 - 4:42pm.

It's an interesting thing, this information technology support and management. I came across an article entitled, Hidden Costs of Information Technology. The author explains his opinion on the hidden costs that come with IT management. I'd expand it to development as well.

The article is well written and uses a graphic example of the costs as an iceberg. The sunk, known costs for hardware and software are above the water line, while the other parts are below.

Again, well written article, but I think the author misses the boat on a couple of things:

1) Procedures and standards: Yes, there is a small cost associated with these, but the good thing is that these are mostly sunk costs as well. Programs are developed to handle things such as Sarbanes-Oxley, so the costs are minimal when they are implemented.

2) Approval process: The author doesn't mention this, but there is a cost associated with development of an implementation and testing plan. This also includes the customer requirements and approval.

Anyway, yes, there are hidden costs in information technology management, but if a project is managed properly you won't have any issues.