One of the biggest challenges that managers face when introducing and/or validating an IT initiative to senior management is striking the balance between business-focused and IT-focused discussions.

This balance is of particular importance as companies make application modernization a priority based on its ability to reduce software maintenance costs, preserve intellectual knowledge and move business applications to the Web.

Still, making the case to senior management is not without its challenges. With this in mind, following is five step process designed to help make the case for application modernization.

1. Build a case: explain how application modernization can a) offset the rising cost of IT maintenance and energy requirements; b) fill the ‘business logic’ gap left by the shrinking number of experts in legacy application development; c) update antiquated business processes and practices to improve human capital productivity; d) accelerate the pace of integrating people and processes after mergers, acquisitions and down-sizing initiatives.

2. Collect the evidence: deliver a compelling illustration of how soon the effort will deliver a financial return using and citing benchmarks that will be achieved within six months, nine months, 12 months, and two years.

3. Outline the business benefits: support the financial analysis with a discussion of the benefits that are both directly cost comparable as well as those that are less tangible from an ROI perspective yet are critical to the overall success of the organization.

4. Crunch the numbers: show the financial and strategic impact of not pursuing an application modernization initiative. Use charts to compare the two to three year cost model of application modernization versus maintaining the status quo. Look for third-party research from the likes of IDC, Gartner, and Forrester that highlight the trends you identified earlier in your presentation.

5. Present the findings: after completing the steps outlined above, the business case is ready for presentation and discussion among the decision makers responsible for the expense, implementation and delivery of the application project in question.

Finally, to avoid jargon-laden discussions and articulate key points to a B2B audience, some companies are also using social media tools to illustrate the business and technology challenges facing companies today. For example, the "Greg the Architect" series and the new "The House that Nexaweb Built" video resonate with audiences because they bring to life the issues facing most IT organizations today from a larger industry perspective.

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