The importance of an IT strategy

The importance of an IT strategy(Technology)

Tags: COBIT , governance , IS Governance , IT , IT Governance , ITIL , strategic plan , strategy , IT strategy , IT strategy , information system


To continue on the subject  of the importance of IT governance in large companies and to encourage its adoption by small and medium enterprises, I present here a pragmatic approach to developing an IT strategy.

Development of IT strategy

I often realize when I ask during my training, the question of the definition of a strategy, that most of my students do not really understand what it is.

The IT Strategy, what is it(Solutions)?

So what is the purpose of an IT strategy? Is it to leave the current state of IT and to plan its future development? Or is it the business of providing the technology vision of the IT department whose purpose is not only to meet the needs of the business? Or, is it to develop in conjunction with other business entities of the Company solutions that will meet the needs expressed by stakeholders through the Board?


A strategy can usually cover such diverse aspects as the complexity of your IT infrastructure and your business requirements and is expected to achieve results including:

Ability to do more with less ... ...
Improve the ability of business to create value for the Company by allowing them to connect and access information from anywhere at any time
Find the right balance between predictability and innovation of the business model
Provide better data to enable the Enterprise to make better decisions
Outsource back-office systems and reallocate resources to support key needs of Business
Make strategic sourcing as migrating to a hybrid cloud solution to use temporarily to external expertise(Computer services),
And much more…
The definition of the IT strategy is therefore not a solitary exercise conducted by the CIO, but is part of a working group created by all members of the Executive Committee, based on the direction given by the Board will have to propose to that a plan to achieve the objectives specified by the stakeholders (shareholders or owners, state for legal compliance, external organizations regulations, etc.). Each member of the Management Committee (Business Executives, CFO, HR, Operations Director, CIO, etc. ...) will therefore have to provide the plane corresponding to its own domain. The overall strategy of the organization will be, therefore, a consolidation of all these strategic plans developed by each entity. The IT department will, of course, its role to support other entities in achieving the Company objectives. The Company strategy will be presented by the CEO and approved by the Board of Directors. Each executive will therefore responsible for achieving the objectives of its own strategy and thus contribute to the achievement of Company goals.

What does the definition of a good strategy?

IT Strategy on a page(Tech Noxe)
Template provided by CEB

A look at the IT strategies of large companies will give you an idea of their content and form. The average size of an IT strategy document is about 35 pages written in a simple and understandable language by all. The visual illustration of the strategy, usually presented in the summary, is what I call a roadmap which aims to provide an overview of the expected results of the IT organization over the coming years.

IT strategy is for the Board of Directors and the Management Committee. These two bodies are composed of people with a business vision of the Company and in any case technical mink. It is therefore essential that the presentation of your IT strategy is suitable for your audience and remains concise and non-technical. Remember that this is to say what we will undertake not how we will go about it . This is where, most often, CIOs will fail because the typical profile of a DSi must be that of an Executive Business whose skills are suited to this exercise and never that of a "computer "in the end most often career. Alas, in the absence of clear IT strategy, IT will not be able to support the objectives of the Company and innovation necessary to enable it to create value for its stakeholders parties. The computer will then become de facto a cost center, in an economic environment where we constantly aim to eliminate unnecessary costs. It is therefore essential that the IT strategy is aligned with the needs of the company and it is in the hands of people with the right skills(Gadgets).

It is necessary for small businesses to have an IT strategy that can be summarized on a single page.

Strategic alignment is key

COBIT 5 goals cascadeAs we have previously stated, all strategies of the Company's entities must be aligned to create value for its stakeholders. When the IT department has identified its urgent needs and opportunities to improve its effectiveness and efficiency, and placed all in a strategic plan, then it must ensure that its strategy is aligned with most, if not all of the business objectives in order to meet all the direction set by the CA. The cascade of "objectives, described by COBIT 5, allows for alignment and tool typically used by the Governance and Management of bodies to monitor progress at the enterprise level will be a balanced scorecard.


(Cloud)Some questions / answers on the IT strategy

Who is responsible and involved in the definition of IT strategy?
RACI management strategyAgain, COBIT 5 helps us, with the RACI process APO02: Strategy management .

2. What is the scope of an IT strategy? Is it for a business unit, country or the entire organization worldwide?

The best answer is that it depends on each organization, and depends on its size and needs. What is clear here is that the strategy of each business unit must be aligned with the business strategy which will make the alignment of IT with each of them easier.

3. How do we fix the strategy? How often should it be reviewed(מחשבים)?

An acceptable time for a strategic plan could be up to 3 or 4 years due to the continuous evolution of business and technology in the context of globalization. This strategic plan should then be broken down into several tactical plans with the optimal length would be about six months and should never exceed one year. We must remember that the longer the duration of a project is long and less likely it is to be successful. Therefore, it is best to break large projects into digestible portions that can fit in your tactical plans.

How to become familiar with these concepts?

The repository COBIT5 published by ISACA  is a very interesting model to adopt for the Governance and Management of the IS, inasmuch as it covers the entire Company and ensures the alignment of IT with other functions starting from the need of stakeholders to achieve the cascade of objectives based on 7 facilitators:

COBIT 5 - 7 facilitators

Principles, policies and repository
Process
organizational structures
Culture, ethics and behavior
Information(טק נוקס)
Services, applications and infrastructure
Personal, skills and abilities
For more information and become familiar with these concepts, AB Consulting regularly organizes customized sessions, in French and in English, awareness for the members of the Boards and Executive Committees as well as certified training for managers :  Foundation and implementation . We also offer the evaluation of the ability of your IT processes to ensure their alignment with policy and corporate strategy based .