"Desktop video has gotten pretty cheap," he added. "It costs us less than a penny a minute. It's next to free. It's going to show up everywhere."

Sometimes CIOs can't persuade business executives to fund what may be worthwhile projects. If that happens, those eager to stay the course have some options, according to Bill Krivoshik, senior vice president and CIO at Time Warner.

"You're in a position of fiscal responsibility," he said. "You need to align your goals with the company's. You're not going to hide things. But there are alternative ways to fund it."

CIOs should look to get a proof-of-concept exercise off the ground for the idea, Krivoshik said. If it works, then company leadership can be persuaded to fund it, he said. "If not, then you only spent a little bit of money."

But Time Warner is also making a fundamental change to its IT operations.