Portfolio management is playing an increasingly important role in helping IT managers maximise return-on-investment (ROI), according to Meta Group. In a survey of more than 300 UK IT professionals, the research group found that nearly 44% of organisations have implemented IT portfolio management. A similar Meta Group survey in the US found 42% are using portfolio management.

Meta Group defines portfolio management as “a disciplined and structured approach of continuous, repeatable and easily sustainable processes”, which enables organisations to categorise, evaluate, prioritise, purchase and manage technology assets (hardware, software and people) and projects. It also enables organisations to align these assets with business needs, says Meta Group. Measuring, demonstrating and increasing IT value were cited as key drivers by the respondents. Innovation and the ability to change were also important factors.

“For the past two years, Meta Group has been emphasising a portfolio management approach to IT to organise assets and realise value,” says Jean-Louis Previdi, Meta Group’s senior vice president and director of research EMEA.

He adds: “The research shows that IT organisations recognise that portfolio management is a key tool for communicating with their business counterparts, providing the framework for substantive business-level dialogue about the value of IT. Equally important is its use in providing the overall structure for IT risk/reward analysis and IT investment decision-making.”