<p>Dust off the bunting and hang the flags out: global IT spending is forecast to increase by 4.1% in 2013 according to Gartner's latest worldwide IT spending forecast published in March.</p><p>This is great news, but when considered within the still-quaking economy it also comes with a caution: it's more important than ever to make carefully-planned IT investments which add value to a business and create a Return on Investment in a defined time period. Now is not the time for IT Supermarket Sweeps, or for keeping up with the Jones'.</p><p>Unified Communications (UC) is one particular investment which brings about an improved way of working with immediate, tangible business benefits. When securing board buy-in, a commitment to how quickly companies can see a Return on Investment (ROI) from its rollout is often one of the deciding factors.</p><p>To make the decision easy for the board, it's essential that you evaluate the financial impact of such an investment. Forrester Consulting looked at the total economic impact of Microsoft Lync on a business, and estimated a 337 percent risk-adjusted ROI, with a payback period of 12 months. Even to the most IT-anxious board members, those figures are impressive.</p><p><a href="http://www.cloudcomputing-news.net/news/2013/apr/11/sizing-collaboration-how-measure-roi-your-unified-communications/">Keep reading...</a></p>