The Valuation of Information Technology: A Guide for Strategy Development, Valuation, and Financial Planning

As a 20 year veteran of in-house software engineering and development, I was recently challenged with creating a business case for developing shrink-wrapped software for global sale. A daunting prospect that better have some serious market anaysis and ROI numbers behind it to satisfy the board of directors. I purchased 4 books on the topic before I found Chris Gardners book, and I breathed a sigh of relief flying to headquarters as a studied and highlighted endless passages in the text. I have since read this book end-to-end; and it was worth every penny I paid for it. If you need formula's for valuation this book has them like several others; if you need a book that takes you end-to-end, from marketing considerations to valuation, this is the book for you. I have a multi-million dollar deal sewn up because my business case looked so good. The COO has even told me it was the most impressive software development business case he has ever seen. I used this book to design a marketing approach and build my business case from the ground-up; and it worked. This book will pay for itself a thousand times over if you really need to understand technology valuation. And you know what; you don't need an MBA to understand it or six months off work to read it.

Despite the huge interest in technology stocks and their incredible market volatility in recent years, there have been few sources available for would-be investors wanting to make responsible decisions. But here's one. Chris Gardner takes you through the bedrock of responsible valuation, discounted cash flow analysis, using an extremely detailed case study of AT & T's acquisition of TCI. He provides the entire AT & T spreadsheet on his website so you can play with it on your own time.For myself, as an internet equity analyst, the most interesting part of the book was the guide to market research. Gardner has very detailed suggestions on how to decide what to sell, survey what customers want, and estimate how much they'll buy. He cuts some slack for struggling dotcoms looking for customers: "Developers of commercial Internet services have had to rely on their instincts during these early years of the Internet, since market research could not provide much guidance on their prospects." If you're already in the business, this book provides a good review course in valuation methods; if you're not, it's a good place to start.

The book is structured in a way to lead me to integrate the analysis of an IT business from a holistic approach. It provides an analytical framework to link all operational details which are integral to the strategic objective.

Technology and Innovation are proven business drivers for corporate value. Trouble is, not many of us, on or off Wall Street, know how to construct a predictive valuation model, for a technology investment, with any degree of confidence.Gardner attacks the challenge by presenting a thoughtful approach that synthesizes marketplace business drivers with information system planning; deriving an insightful and sound valuation model. The book's valuation framework is both comprehensive and detailed (abundant formulas, graphs), but remains accessible to motivated readers by providing problem and solution examples, photographs, and numerous easy-to-understand charts.Gardner's shareholder value perspective takes technology valuation away from soft metrics, gut feel and elevator pitches, and brings it into the harsh light of financial reality; on this count, the book is most certainly ground-breaking. Highly insightful, practical and instructive! ....