That history leaves many executives wondering what their IT organizations actually own, he says. And with good reason. "You cannot manage what you cannot measure," says Murphy, an analyst at Forrester Research.

As CIOs face greater pressure for transparency in their budgets, they're finding that an accurate inventory of applications, systems and hardware is a key first step. Pricewaterhouse-Coopers recommends a four-part process that Carl Tudor, director of the firm's advisory practice, summarizes this way:

- Inventory hardware and software, as well as the business processes that each piece supports.

- Look at hardware and software contract management -- purchasing agreements, vendor maintenance agreements and the like. Establish what you own, lease and rent.

- Reconcile what you actually have with the sum of what you officially own, lease and rent. This helps identify assets that are off the grid, such as rogue software programs that employees have installed against company policy.