Seventy percent of all IT projects fail - and scores of books have attempted to help firms measure and manage IT systems and processes better in order to turn this figure around. In this book, IT experts Peter D. Weill and Jeanne W. Ross argue that the real reason IT fails to deliver value is that companies have no formal system in place for guiding and monitoring IT decisions. Their research shows that firms with explicit IT governance systems have twice the profit of firms with poor governance, given the same strategic objectives. Just as corporate governance systems aim to ensure quality decisions about corporate assets, the authors show, companies need IT governance systems to ensure that IT investments are made wisely and effectively. Based on a study of 250 enterprises worldwide, IT Governance shows how to design and implement a customized system of decision rights that will ensure that all employees invest in and use IT only in manners that achieve the company's strategic and financial goals. Practical and proven in practice, this book will help firms transform IT from an expense to a profitable investment.