Four Key Considerations for Better Aligning IT with Your Business
How well is your IT organization aligned with your business?
Here is a test. What happens after you upgrade all of the routers to the latest versions and increase the reliability, security, and throughput as a result? Is your organization aware of the business benefits of the upgrade and how it will help them become more effective? If the answer is no or you’re not sure, here are four key considerations to help you better align IT with your business.
1. Understand What Drives Your Company. Beyond just revenue and profits, figure out what your company values. Does your company pride itself on its culture, history or its entrepreneurial nature? Then determine how IT can support or enable the realization of that value.
2. Become a Value Added Contributor/Partner. Talk to your business leaders and look for opportunities to deliver IT solutions that can help them with the issues they are facing. Share your good ideas and then listen when you get feedback. Provide solutions not obstacles and be flexible where you can and your business leaders will take notice.
3. Build Relationships. Think of your business users as customers and try to pro-actively help them solve their issues to make the organization more productive. Check in regularly with your business leaders to show that IT is aligned with and cares about the organizations goals. Make sure to deliver on your promises to show you don’t just talk about being customer focused, but that you act on it.
4. Think—and Act—Like a Business. Consider ways to make the business more competitive and productive. Think of ways that IT can reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction or enable employees to be more productive in supporting business operations. With any IT initiative, make sure there is a solid business justification for its implementation and have a clear understanding of the benefits to the business.
Better aligning IT with the business won’t cost money, but it does take time. Your patience and effort will pay off in the long-term with an improved organization. Do you have other suggestions that could be helpful?
