I have seven years experience as the business manager for two enterprise class (200 - 500 IT staff) technology operations.  Both of them were industry leaders in cost, efficiency, effectiveness and reliability.

In short...they delivered value.

Both operations functioned on a full chargeback basis and both had external clients.  Operating on a full chargeback basis is hard.  It´s an order of magnitude more difficult to break even than it is to earn a profit.  Why is that?  Because if you want to earn profits, you don´t get beaten up for making too much money.

If you´re trying to break even and you don´t succeed, you lose both ways. You´re not efficient if you lose money and you´re greedy if you make money.

It´s the one type of business where making zero makes you a hero.

To succeed in a full recovery technology operation, in addition to good business judgement, you have to be an expert in customer relations, marketing, costing, pricing, zero-based budgeting and chargeback methodologies.

Writing and presenting great budgets and business cases goes with the territory. Negotiating with customers, vendors and senior management is an essential component of success.

To succeed as the business manager in IT, you have to understand and speak both the technical language of the computer technology groups, and also be able to communicate successfully with corporate and business executives. 

If you need help with the business side of your technology business, we can help, so call us at (604) 889-4199