I have defined the IT asset as the intangible, off-the-books asset that represents the total of the enterprise’s IT capabilities, inasmuch as they can be used to derive future revenues and manage future costs. It is a complex asset that includes not just the capabilities of the IT systems, but their internal quality, their architecture, and their flexibility for change. An important point of the book is that this asset is more valuable—literally—when it is more agile; that is, if the IT asset is amenable to fast, low risk, and inexpensive change, then it actually has more financial value because it supports business agility, which allows the company to seize opportunities and respond to disruption.
— War and Peace and IT: Glossary, Mark Schwartz