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Business Value Advisory Services
IT Business Case Consulting
Assessments
We conduct highly credible
business value studies to assist IT purchasers in
understanding the qualitative and financial implications
(ROI) of technology-enabled investments. Engagements
typically include: assessment of the existing customer
environment (maturity levels) and the proposed solution;
identification and quantification of costs, benefits,
and risks; financial analysis (cash flow, ROI, etc.);
and development of the business case. HCR has conducted
many strategic high-profile business value studies. HCR
has influenced over $100 million in IT investments.

Business Value Assessment Types
Assessment Type |
Objectives
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Technologies
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Key Components
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IT Initiative Business Value Study
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Quantify the costs and financial and
strategic benefits of IT projects
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- Any IT-enabled project/investment
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- Needs analysis
- Solution benefits (IT, business; qualitative,
quantitative)
- Costs & risks
- Financial analysis (ROI)
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Business Process Assessments
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Recommend IT-based solutions to improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of business
processes
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- Process diagramming & analysis
- Solution recommendations
- Business case
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Business Productivity Assessment
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Propose solutions to enhance information
worker (IW) productivity and effectiveness
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- BI, collaboration, mobility, content
management, etc.
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- Activity and technology assessment
- Benchmarking
- Solution business case
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Microsoft Business Value Study
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Develop economic justification for investing in or upgrading Microsoft technologies
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- Client, server, and cloud products and services
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- Quantify costs and benefits
- Develop business case
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Licensing Option Analysis
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Financial analysis of complex software
licensing scenarios
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- Enterprise agreements (EA), select
agreements, software assurance
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- Scenario total cost analysis
- Software assurance benefits
- Financial analysis
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Project Portfolio Analysis
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Assesses the financial and strategic impacts
of initiative portfolio strategies
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- IT-enabled projects/investments
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- Assess current state
- Analyze solutions
- Quantify business performance changes
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Business Intelligence Business Value Study
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Assess BI maturity and ROI of BI initiatives
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- Data warehouse
- Scorecards
- Analytics
- Data management
- Reporting
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- Assess maturity/capability levels
- Assess initiative costs
- Assess financial and strategic benefits
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Business
Value Study Potential Scope
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Situation assessment, including current
practices, issues, needs, objectives, etc.
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Solution assessment
- Analysis of solution
feature/capability needs
- Pre-requisites capabilities (e.g.
infrastructure, skills, etc.)
- Likely feature adoption
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Maturity (best practice) assessment,
including assessment of solution impact on
maturity levels
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Quantification of solution costs and
benefits (see below for details)
- TCO analysis, including current TCO and
TCO changes due to the solution
- KPIs assessment: impact of the
solution on key performance indicators
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Benefits will be linked to their enabling
technology features/capabilities
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Deployment planning: implementation
method, strategy, & timing
- Risk assessment
- Identification of risks
- Quantification of mitigation and
remediation costs
- Financial Analysis
- Total costs and benefits by type
- Cash flow analysis
- Payback period, ROI, NPV, IRR
Typical Deliverables
- Excel workbook
- Contains all inputs, assumptions,
calculations, and results
- Model inputs can be traced to the source of the
data/estimates
- Workbook can be modified and reused by the customer
- Research/data
collected
- Research used to support analysis
- Results presentation - with detailed
appendices
- 1-2 hour presentation
- 30-40 slide presentation
- Final report (Business
case)
- Provides additional explanations of information in the results
presentation
- 15-25 pages
Typical Methodology and Tools Used
Our methodologies are based on
industry-standard best practice
techniques/analysis/tools; are as transparent and
objective as possible; and leverage existing 3rd party
research from Gartner, IDC, Forrester, Wipro, etc to
enhance credibility. All methods/calculations be based
on standard industry best practices
- Spreadsheet tools developed by HCR
- Output of other 3rd party tools (Gartner, WiPro, Forrester, Alinean, etc.) may
also be used as appropriate
- Results of prior studies and other 3rd party research (IDC, Gartner, Forrester,
scholarly, books, etc.) will be referenced whenever possible to support
estimates and enhance accuracy of results
- Survey/questionnaire – used to assess the current customer environment
- Maturity models are often used to assess opportunities to
enhance value by adopting best practices
Typical Assessment Activities

Costs (the investment)
All one-time and on-going costs required to
implement/deploy, adopt, maintain, and support the
solution(s)
Hardware
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Software
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IT Labor, Services, & Training
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End-User Labor & Training
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- PCs (new/upgraded)
- Servers
- Mobile devices
- Storage
- Networking equipment
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- Client/server applications
- Client/server operating
systems
- Client access licenses (CALs)
- Databases
- Utilities
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- Planning, Evaluation and
Project Management
- Engineering/Development
- Lab Testing, Pilot Testing
- Rollout
- Performance Tuning
- Documentation
- Implementation User Support
- Consultants / External Services
- Maintenance/ support
- IT training (formal external,
formal internal, self study)
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- Solution planning & testing
- Downtime (Unable to be
productive); e.g. during implementation of the solution
- Resolution of issues related
to the new solution
- System configuration
- Data entry
- End-user training and ramp–up
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IT Labor
TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)
Annual on-going/recurring
labor and services required to support and maintain the
"as-is" (current or status quo) and "to-be" (after the
solution is deployed) environment
PC Management Services
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Help Desk (Tech Support)
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Server & Network Mgmt Services
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Application Development & Administration
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- PC HW / SW Evaluation
- PC Image Management
- User Admin & Provisioning
- Application Management
- Software Deployment
- Security Assessment &
Planning
- Security Patch Management
- Security Incident Remediation
- Data Mgmt, Backup & Restore
- Tools/GPO Management
- 3rd Level Support
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- Proprietary Applications
- Standard Desktop Software
- Operating Systems
- Hardware (except printers)
- Data Communications/ Network
- Password Resets
- Databases
- Service Requests
- Voice Communications
- Printers
- Others
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- Network management
- Hardware management
- Operating system support
- Server application mgmt
- Security
- Storage management
- Database Mgmt & Admin
- Other
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- Application Development
- Design
- Development
- Testing
- Support
- Administration & Other
- Planning
- Purchasing
- Finance
- Training
- Senior management
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Benefits
Direct and Indirect benefits
enabled by the initiative -- the "return" part of ROI
IT Labor/Services TCO Savings
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Other Direct Cost Savings
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User Productivity Benefits
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Revenue Growth
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- PC Management
Services
- Help Desk (Tech
Support)
- Server & Network
Mgmt Services
- Application
Development
- Administration &
Other
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- IT Savings
- Software - Clients
- Software - Servers
- Hardware
- IT Services
- Power/Electricity
Usage
- Business Savings
- Travel Expenses
- Business Services
- Operating Expenses
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- Individual Computing
- Document Creation
- Data & Information
Access/Analysis
- Email, Calendar,
Contact, & Task Mgmt
- LOB
Application-Related Activities
- Collaborative
Computing
- Document
Collaboration
- Workflow (routing)
- Coordination /
Project Mgmt
- PC Systems
Management
- Support, Self-Help,
& Learning
- Performance
- Mobility & Remote
Connectivity
- Security & Privacy
- System UI Navigation
- Availability &
Reliability
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- Improved Sales
Effectiveness
- Improved Marketing
Effectiveness
- Improved Customer
Service
- New/Expanded
Channels/Geographies
- New/Enhanced
Products/Services
- Improved Product
Availability (fill rate, up-time)
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Non-Financial KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
Below are some KPIs that are frequently quantified in
HCR economic justifications:
Sales/Marketing Performance |
Business Management
Effectiveness
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Supply/Operations
Performance
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Technology effectiveness
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- Marketing/R&D
Effectiveness (lead generation)
- Sales Effectiveness
(Customer Acquisition)
- Product Price & Mix
Optimization
- Customer Satisfaction
(Retention)
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- Decision-Making
Effectiveness
- Compliance/Governance
- Business Visibility
- Reaction Time to
Market Event/Opportunity
- Working Capital
interest expense
- Waste
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- New Product Revenue
Percentage
- Time-to-market
- Supply Chain
Effectiveness
- Forecast Accuracy
- Product/Service
Quality
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- Security
Vulnerabilities
- Downtime
- Deployment Speed
- User Computing
Experience Satisfaction
- Information Quality
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