The ultimate value of a research program or new technology to a company comes from the improvements they deliver to commercial operation. Thus, a technological solution to a problem will not be implemented if the return on investment (ROI) does not meet internal criteria or it does not compete well with alternative solutions (including doing nothing, where that is an option). Thus, preparing and analysing the business case for introducing any technological change is an essential and ongoing activity throughout the course of any research and development, or technology evaluation program, to ensure that unwarranted investment is not made into activities that do not have a reasonable probability (calibrated against potential benefit) of delivering acceptable commercial outcomes. There is, of course, a delicate balance between ensuring that an appropriate level of risk is maintained, and the danger of missing major opportunities through terminating investigations before the full potential is known. otbSolutions has extensive experience in applying front end loading of business case analysis to technology solutions, ranging from incremental to truly transformational, and can provide very valuable insights and assistance for your organisation.