A famous saying teaches "...projects don't fail due to technology. They fail due to politics, budget, or compliance." Despite this painful reality, IT teams continue to propose new technologies, tools, and projects almost entirely on the basis of the technical merits; only for us to be frustrated when we're refused because of those 3 non-technical elements.

In addition to the challenge of explaining deeply complex technical elements in simple terms, making the case to the business requires IT folks learn about and speak to concepts like business justifications, RFP's, ROI, and more - which many of us are loath to do.

But the hard truth is this: if a request isn't made understandable and meaningful to business leaders, it's not going to get done. In this talk, I'll elaborate on why the business continues to ignore our compelling technical arguments, why IT practitioners need to be the ones to adapt, and how to present initiatives in a way the business will appreciate - all without compromising our identity as technical professionals in the process.