For all the forward looking CIO’s and Technology Departments the alignment of business and IT Objectives is arising priority. The stakeholders and employees are keen to know how the IT department delivers value to the business of the organisation and the end users.
Deep drive analysis shows that there are six key areas where Information Technology & Business should align together to scale-up to achieve new heights. The suggested measures are as following:
Key Area 1: Communication – Both the departments should understand each other’s goals. But the question is How to do it? They need build programs (meetings, workshops, committees) to bridge the gaps and understand each other’s pain points and goals.
Key Area 2: Value Measurements – IT metrics are directly related with business objectives. To name a few examples server uptime is related to business financial application uptime. If the servers are down the business will suffer in terms of money and time both. The teams should create SLA’s, and Formal Reviews to reviews provide accountability and visibility.
Key Area 3: Governance – There should be perfect alignment between Business Objectives and IT Investments. The business leaders should review the investments made in IT department. These included New Product investments, now these should be aligned with Sales Incentives given to the Sales Team. Similarly, Organisational Structure should be linked with Employee Goals.
Key Area 4: Partnerships – All organisations consider IT department as a valuable partner for success, as it plays a visible role in strategic business planning, setting goals.
Key Area 5: Scope & Architecture –The IT dept. is transparent in its operations, and it’s actively involved in operations. It also plays a role of supportive partner. For a better team pairing the departments should schedule more meetings to discuss changes, emerging technological changes and limitations being experienced by departments.
Key Area 6: Skills – The management team should supports an environment that nurtures innovation and entrepreneurship. Teams should be constantly motivated to build skills and support each other.
More opportunities should be created for cross-training, career crossovers and building a trusting. The organisation should promote a social culture which is friendlier.
For more details on business alignment criteria’s and step-by-step directions on how to create aligned objectives and how to map KPIs to those objectives, get in touch with us at connect@eStomi.net or visit us at www.eStomi.com
