Almost every CIO identifies reducing operational expenditure and increasing the amount spent on IT investments as a top priority. However, many fail to manage properly the operational costs of IT investment in new programs, which can erode investment funding, according to Gartner, Inc.

"Organizations that overspend on operational activity have little money left to invest in new projects. Without reinvestment, organizations cannot restructure and optimize their operational spending," said Stewart Buchanan, research vice president at Gartner. "This results in rising non-discretionary costs which in turn result in further underinvestment, lack of competitiveness, failing client service and loss of revenue. This makes future spending even less affordable and even less avoidable. Program and project managers need to break their organization out of this spiral of terminal decline."

To help CIOs and IT professionals avoid this spiral, Gartner has identified five tactics to help manage IT investment in new programs.