An IT leader said to me recently that analyst Gartner is a bit like the new Big Blue. The commonly used adage suggests no IT manager ever got sacked for choosing IBM. And the technology chief suggested the saying now worked for Gartner - ­ certainly in a strategic sense, anyway.

The credit crunch and ever-deepening recession means justifying new IT investment is harder than ever.

Problem is, of course, many of the potential benefits from modern business technology projects sound a bit esoteric.

Forget simple efficiency metrics, the most important initiatives create fluffy benefits such as integration, collaboration and knowledge.

And going to the finance director with a qualitative list is a bit like the proverbial chocolate teapot: useless.

The ongoing downturn means the board wants big, juicy numbers ­ a quantitative value it can associate with a technology implementation.

Enter the IT manager’s good friend Gartner, keeper of the magic quadrant and king of the buzzword.

Line-of-business executives often struggle to understand the bits and bytes of technology. But the business likes Gartner; it likes how reports can be produced to justify technology spending.

The IT leader told me the boon of such an approach is simple: your boss believes Gartner. All of which means the IT manager can justify their project.

But taking business executives on a trip to the wonderful world of Gartner also has its bad points. Show your boss the source of your knowledge and it can come back to bite you.

Recoil in horror as the chief executive enters your office and asks if you have seen the latest research from Gartner. How do you tell your boss to keep their nose out, especially when he is clutching the latest announcement from Gartner vice president Ken McGee, who says the worst consequences of the recession can be prevented by “countering innovation with innovation”?

Sounds a bit like a tautology to me, except the second word is exactly the same as the first.

Good luck blending quadrants and tautology in an attempt to secure project funding. My guess is you will need it.

Further reading

• CIO concerns: Rob Fraser switches Boots for CSC
• CIOs will need to transform to survive
• Career moves: Robin Terrell is John Lewis web MD
• Career moves: Steve Markwell is new NCC CEO
• Career moves: Carl Powell becomes Unipart CEO
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels