The future planning for IT involves processes linked to information technology expenditures and investment.  Many IT projects do not get approved due to managers of IT not presenting the information about the project in a business manner or standard, they tend to concentrate on the technical aspects which most executives have a hard time relating to. As IT is implemented more into business processes, it is very vital that IT management be able to present projects in a business format that will help executives understand the importance of this project and how it can help with business processes. This will help influence them in investing in the project. Austin, Nolan and O'Donnel (2009).

There are two categories according to Austin, Nolan and O'Donnel (2009) that apply to an organization in the market place when it comes to IT, “qualifiers” and “compete”. “Qualifiers” category is technology that keeps the organization competing in the business and marketplace, it is more of maintenance making sure that the organization does not fall behind to their competitors. The “compete” category describes technology that would give organizations a competitive edge over their competition. This very important when deciding on projects in IT, as companies must decide what they want to invest more intensely on maintenance (“qualifier”) and just keeping up in the market and not falling behind or if they want gain an edge in the market by investing in innovative technology (“compete”). As the readings suggest the ratio between maintenance and innovation is about 80/20. Companies must find a balanced ratio that will provide improved benefits to the business processes.

Before IT departments present a proposal for a project they first must prioritize IT projects. Using a portfolio approach to prioritizing IT projects will assist in determining which projects require the most attention and must be looked at first (McKeen and Smith). As budgets are allocated to business units they tend to control what technologies to invest in. This creates a problem for IT as they find themselves servicing different business units and technologies, which spreads them in different directions and not concentrating on specific project. This creates problems, as projects are not completed on time, which relates to it going beyond the assigned budget. According to (McKeen and Smith) the use of a technology roadmap can alleviate problems when it comes to IT projects. Using an IT roadmap provides organizations a way to identify where they are strong and where they require improvement. Also the IT roadmap assists with making decisions that justify improving the business performance. The IT roadmap when planned, updated on a annual basis can be a very powerful tool that can help organizations in development, assessing and management of their IT structure.

With business units making decisions on what technology they need and expecting IT to support the technology whether it is compatible or not with current IT structure puts a lot of stress on the IT. Organizations need to implement standardization when it comes to investing in IT. Business units and IT need to work together in regards to investing in IT. Business units must justify their need for certain technologies and IT must review and examine the technology making sure it will be easily implemented in the current system.  The organization must implement a standardization format at an enterprise level. Doing this will help with prioritization of IT projects, decision making, cost savings and help better facilitate IT in supporting the needs of the business units. For future planning of IT, organizations must implement a standardization system to prevent issues from occurring between IT and business units.