It’s the year that your company’s customer self-service portal project is finally set to get underway. Then the news comes in from the CFO’s office: Everybody can expect midyear budget cuts. The portal project suddenly looks like a nice idea that will need to be moved to the back burner.

That’s the “wait-and-see” approach to cost optimization. Now consider the same scenario, under the leadership of a proactive CIO. Since the Great Recession, the CIO’s overall strategy has included conducting a cost-benefit analysis of all initiatives that require IT services. He already has a list of cost optimization initiatives that includes application rationalization. These initiatives would serve the business’s interests far better than delaying the portal project (which is projected to cut customer service costs while helping with customer revenue and retention goals).

SOURCE: ciol.com