23 Oct 2008

Firms warned of 'hidden IT costs'

Businesses are regularly exceeding their budgets on IT projects after being caught out by hidden costs, an expert has argued.

Michael Krigsman, chief executive officer of IT software firm Asuret, argued in his blog at ZDNet that firms often misjudge the impact of requirements for extra training or documentation that are needed later in the projects.

Too late to turn back, businesses are then forced to spend more than they originally intend to, he wrote.

On hidden or indirect costs that can affect a basic IT project budget, Mr Krigsman listed 14 issues which included data storage, security, software upgrades, employee training and out-of-date software for disaster recovery.

"Use the 14-item checklist to remember hidden pitfalls and stop being a sitting duck in someone else’s crosshairs," he advised firms.

Software-as-a-service applications through cloud computing are other tools firms could use to lower their costs in the current economic crisis, eWeek.com recently suggested.