Skunk works aren't economically viable for some IT organizations. "I've seen companies that spend 99 percent of their IT budget purely on operating and maintaining their installed base. I would never tell those companies to allow any skunk works," says Kaplan. But he says businesses with large IT budgets and discretionary spending should have some skunk works. "But they should work on the most strategic issues and on solutions where the payoff is in the tens to hundreds [of] times the cost of the investment," he says.

Dallas says he has used dollars on hand for infrastructure investment or some of the contingency funds earmarked for large projects.

In the end, there is no guarantee that a skunk works will deliver a breakthrough. Kaplan advises CIOs to view skunk works as a gamble by telling themselves, "If nothing comes of it, well, nothing ventured and nothing gained." He adds, "If you can't say that, then you shouldn't be doing it."

Artunian is a freelance writer in Newport Beach, Calif. Contact her at jartunian@sbcglobal.net.

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