Securing the go ahead for a system upgrade can be difficult in a competitive work environment, where every cost must be accounted for and validated. Getting your project noticed and approved when its lost among a sea of competing projectseach one making a claim on finite resourcescan seem an impossible task.

One beneficial metric to use to demonstrate a system design or upgrades worth is return on investment (ROI). Return on investment analysis is critical in gaining upper management support for projects that require significant investment. In this article, we will look at what ROI is, how its calculated, and most importantly, how it can be used to prove the worth of an optimal system design or upgrade.