HCKT Hackett Group Inc

Judicious investments in the right initiatives and technologies can help turn a run-of-the-mill IT department into a world-class operation -- and finance can reap the benefits. Given the discussions in recent years about the supposed strategic irrelevance of IT and the "commoditization" of IT resources, it's perhaps no wonder that the function has been a primary target for companies' cost-containment efforts. IT departments are certainly feeling the pinch; 42 percent of IT managers feel that their organization spends too little on their function, according to a May survey by Managed Objects, up from 31 percent in a comparable study by the business service management firm last year. New research from The Hackett Group suggests that it's a mistake to assume that when it comes to IT, less is more. Organizations that Hackett defines as "world-class" -- those that achieve peak efficiency and effectiveness in the strategic advisory firm's IT benchmark studies -- spend 7 percent more on IT operations than typical companies do. Click Here to Link to Full Text of Article or visit the following URL: http://www.businessfinancemag.com/magazine/archives/article.html ?articleID=14839 (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.) About The Hackett Group The Hackett Group (NASDAQ: HCKT), a global strategic advisory firm, is a leader in best practice advisory, benchmarking, and transformation consulting services, including shared services, offshoring and outsourcing advice. Utilizing best practices and implementation insights from more than 4,000 benchmarking engagements, executives use Hackett's empirically based approach to quickly define and prioritize initiatives to enable world-class performance. Through its REL brand, Hackett offers working capital solutions focused on delivering significant cash flow improvements. Through its Hackett Technology Solutions group, Hackett offers business application consulting services that helps maximize returns on IT investments. Hackett has worked with 2,700 major corporations and government agencies, including 97% of the Dow Jones Industrials, 73% of the Fortune 100, 73% of the DAX 30 and 45% of the FTSE 100. Founded in 1991, The Hackett Group was acquired by Answerthink, which was renamed The Hackett Group in 2008. The Hackett Group has global offices in the United States, Europe and India. More information on The Hackett Group is available: by phone at (770) 225-7300; by e-mail at info@thehackettgroup.com; or on the Web at www.thehackettgroup.com.