But what is the total business value of our upgrade to the company? To find out, we need to add three non-TCO components of Full Business Value to our analysis. For the "systems effectiveness" component, we could quantify factors such as the ability to bring on entirely new applications, such as CRM, because the new servers and networks would have the needed functionality and capacity. For the "business efficiency" aspect of value, we might include the value of our reduced sales-force travel costs because of better, faster data from the advanced CRM solution made possible by an improved server and network infrastructure. For the fourth component, "business effectiveness", we could examine the tangible and intangible value of having a sales force capable of introducing more new products faster, again because of the capabilities of this advanced CRM system.

By using Full Business Value - not just TCO - to justify IT investments, you may not only uncover additional benefits that make the business case, but you may also boost IT's enterprise credibility by showing the non-IT executives that IT fully understands the scope of the company's operations.

If you suspect that TCO may be misused in your organization, here are three suggestions that can help you get the value analysis right.

1. Detect. Be alert to signs that you are too dependent on TCO for analysis. Warnings include: TCO is more than 25 percent of any value analysis and business case effort; TCO talk (rather than business value talk) dominates value analysis discussions; the terms TCO and ROI are used interchangeably; revenue-side benefits and intangibles are not used in business case justifications.

2. Recruit. If you feel a TCO-focus problem may exist, search out executive peers and other key influencers to gain their support for an enterprisewide value-culture upgrade. Ask for their help in convincing guardians of the investment decision-making process that while TCO plays an important role, there is much more required. Remind those who hesitate that visible, defensible and solid enterprise investment decision-making is a foundation of good IT and corporate governance (for example, Sarbanes-Oxley), Six Sigma quality processes and related initiatives.

3. Embed. Once you have political support for this value analysis makeover, establish and embed the FBV view within your company's IT investment decision-making processes. Help your IT selection committee insert these FBV explanations in their requirements for business case input. Develop business case templates, complete with clear documentation that visibly request such input, and explain how to find it. Establish value analysis training, complete with lots of examples of good and bad practices. Lastly, publicize early successes and look for ways to fine-tune the process as it goes forward.

TCO can uncover important benefits - but not total value. As with any good idea that has the potential to run amok, taking the time to use TCO appropriately is a key step to success.

Jack Keen is founder and president of the IT consultancy The Deciding Factor (www.decidingfactor.com) and co-author of Making Technology Investments Profitable: ROI Road Map to Better Business Cases