A01 chaf6542 06 se fm indd

3 

Threshold investment. These are investments in BIS that a company must make to 

operate within a business. They may have a negative return on investment but are needed 

for competitive survival.

4 

Infrastructure investment. These can be substantial investments which result in gain in 

the medium-to-long term. Typically this includes investment in internal networks, elec-

tronic links and new hardware.

Companies can prioritise potential information systems investments in the above categories 

according to their impact on the business. A similar approach is to specify the applications 

portfolio described in the section on situation analysis. It is evident that priority should be 

given to applications that fall into the strategic and  high-  potential categories in Figure 5.7. 

Now complete Activity 5.4.

Activity 5.4

Digital business investment types

Purpose

To gain an appreciation of how to prioritise IS investments.