10 ways to secure funding for your next IT project

IT has historically been perceived as a cost centre, and therefore a good place for businesses to cut. But it doesn't have to be that way.

After years of battening down the hatches, firms are willing to spend on IT again, with a recent survey by IDC finding that companies are allocating nearly half of their IT budgets to new projects. But securing funding for these projects can be an uphill struggle, so how can CIOs land the cash needed to make them happen?

Here are some techniques that can work when you're arguing the case for an IT project.

1. MAKE YOUR PITCH ABOUT THREE THINGS -- lower the risk to the business, reduce the cost to the business and improve value for the business
2. TEAM UP WITH BUSINESS LEADERS
3. MAKE THE PROJECT EASY TO DIGEST
4. USE REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES
5. ANALYTICS ARE IN
6. DON'T FALL INTO THE CHEAP-AS-CHIPS TRAP
7. MAKE IT A SELF-FUNDING PROJECT
8. EXPLAIN WHY SHADOW IT MAKES IT MORE, NOT LESS RELEVANT
9. DROP IN SOME BUZZ WORDS
10. GET THE RIGHT MEMBERS OF THE C-SUITE ON SIDE

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