Background: IT development has in recent decades been fast progressing. In Sweden many schools have begun to invest in IT and new technologies. What happens at the schools that are investing in IT equipment and modern technology? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to elucidate the conditions for and the success factors and barriers that principals and teachers will experience in IT. Principals' experiences are complemented and mirrored against the teachers. The following issues are in focus: 1. What basic conditions are necessary for IT equipment and modern technology to be used in education? 2. What are the success factors and how do the principals create these? 3. What are the difficulties / obstacles and how do the principals overcome these difficulties? Result: Based on the study, one can see that certain conditions are required in order for IT ventures to succeed. The most important requirement is supporting principals. Conditions such as finance, technology and effective IT support also seem to be important. Another conclusion is that is not only the principals´ responsibility to create all conditions that are needed; municipalities need to centrally decide how to organize their schools, what they want with IT and then sets the stage for it to work. Key words: IT ventures, school improvement, principals, teachers, conditions, barriers and success factors.