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Return on Investment 79

This lack of reversibility is indicative of a dangerous
coupling between Information Systems and their underlying
IT systems. In our imaginary scenario of an IT system which
collapses entirely, the Information System would also be at a
standstill, and it would be impossible to fix software within
reasonable time spans and costs. This overlap is fatal for a
company. It renders IT heavy, unavoidable and intolerable.

To change this, it is imperative to clarify the financial
valuation of the Information System and its underlying IT.
Once the IS assets are better understood, it is easier to
situate them in a sustainable technical infrastructure,
isolated from the rest of IT. We will now see how.

4.4.2. Financial valuation of an Information System

The objective of transforming an Information System
means putting in place procedures that favor its
independence vis-à-vis its underlying IT system. To achieve
this objective, more than half of software developments,
carried out in a bespoke manner by hard coding, should be
deleted in favor of a formal management of reference and
master data, business rules and processes in MDM, BRMS,
and BPM repositories, respectively.

This approach is not always properly appreciated by
certain IT systems integrator firms who prefer to have
classic development projects, mobilizing software developers.
Rather than bet on offshore to reduce costs, companies must
take MDM, BRMS and BPM repositories into consideration
in order to streamline IT development and reduce risks,
costs and time spans. In any case, these repositories are the
only way to propel the assets of an Information System into
the hands of business users.

Hard-coded software with complementary repositories are
less weighty but are more important. They ensure the link