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Aligning Business and IT Strategies Workshop delivered by BumbleBee Consulting at the Connect 2 Connect Summit 2014, Tanzania
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Aligning Business & IT Strategies
Presented by Sean O’Connell
Agenda
Context
The Alignment Process
Maintaining & Evolving the IT Strategy
The Essence of Successful Alignment
Benefits
Q&A
“IT Leaders must be more process focused; they must
align more closely with the needs of the business”.
It is a mantra that CIO’s have both heard and preached
for more than two decades but has proven to be very
elusive and despite continuing efforts throughout the
industry, improving business and IT alignment still shows
up on virtually all ‘Top CIO Priorities’ industry listings.
The accelerating pace of business change on the one
hand, and the exploding rate of technology innovation
on the other, is making it increasingly difficult for IT
Leaders to align business and IT strategies.
An inability to solve this problem threatens IT’s
relevance within the enterprise.
Mobility, always on, WiFi etc. have
disrupted the IT landscape demanding
strategic and execution agility
Traditional IT roles have expanded (e.g.
CIO, CTO & CMO)
Business & IT Strategy alignment is no
longer a choice IT IS NECESSARY!
Technology is rapidly changing the world around us, forcing Virtual & Physical
worlds to coexist.
Technology THE Disruptor
A shared understanding of how IT applications, technologies and services will contribute to business objectives – today and in the future.
A shared focus on where to expend scarce resources, time and money; the trade-offs the enterprise is prepared to make.
A credible working relationship between the IT organization and the rest of the business evidenced by reliable daily operations, responsive problem management and predictable, innovative solution delivery.
The purpose of Business – IT Alignment is to optimize the value that IT contributes
to the enterprise. As such, in order to successfully outline a strategic IT roadmap,
it is important to start with an aligned business & IT strategy which encompasses:
Purpose
10 Point Iterative IT Alignment Plan
Given a clearly documented and accepted Business Strategy, Define the IT Strategy:
1. Understand the business – Document all business processes (formal & informal)
2. Acknowledge the culture – Analyse the structure, ethos & nature of the organisation
3. Know the IT landscape – Identify & document all IT assets, applications & delivery channels
4. Discover the value chains – Document the relationships & touch points between Business & IT
5. Gather intelligence about internal & external influential factors
6. Determine the change agenda – Identify triggers and implications of changing business strategy
7. Prioritise, time-line & optimise the change agenda
8. Translate the technology roadmap into business & action plans
9. Resource the programme
10. Achieve the business benefit - Implement & monitor
When you have completed the Business & IT Alignment program you should ensure:
• Awareness & Support from key executives to participate in iteratively
developing the IT Strategy.
• An understanding of how emerging technologies, applications and trends can
or will impact your enterprise and your IT organization.
• Clear expectations of how IT will contribute to reaching the company’s
business goals and objectives.
• Reaffirming IT’s role and value in support of the strategic vision.
Business & IT Alignment should be revisited periodically, at least annually, or when
there is a significant course correction in corporate direction.
Maintaining & Evolving the IT Strategy
Endeavour to share your strategy within
the organisation & with partners
Use clearly defined business plans and
models to facilitate discussion and
understanding
Implement objective KPI’s to prove
achievement of goals
Proper alignment between business & IT is based on effective understanding,
communication & collaboration. Thus wherever possible:
The Essence of Successful Alignment
Independent facilitation is recommended to ensure effective change management
and focussed momentum.
Benefits
An aligned business & IT strategy will enable you to:
1. Understand how your business works
2. Know where the business is going
3. Decide on a clear action plan
4. Decide on measurement criteria (i.e KPI’s)
5. Realise & communicate what needs to change
6. Learn how to use IT to do things better
7. Make better informed business & technology decisions
Quote
Goals.
‘’There’s no telling what you can do when you get
inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do
when you believe in them. There’s no telling what
will happen when you act upon them.’’
