Executive Summary

Every business will need to make its own choices about investment priorities during turbulent economic times. This white paper offers guidance and a framework based on the experience of Microsoft® Corporation and hundreds of its customers. The following list suggests several starting points:

• Examine ways to get the most out of existing information technology (IT) investments, drive efficiencies, and manage costs.
• Examine IT investments in light of strategic priorities, not just costs. Continue investing to remain competitive where it makes sense.
• Replace aging systems that will reduce the capability to grow when the economy recovers.
• Ensure a strong collaborative infrastructure is in place, so that intelligence about the business and the business climate can be gathered as insight and transformed into action items.
• Invest in business analytics as a way to better understand customers, costs, and operations.
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