Product: IT-Business strategy

Het underpinning of a business strategy with a supporting IT-strategy takes a lot after chess. There are many possible strategies and moves.

General objectives, such as culture and attitude can usually just be adopted. But most business objectives have to be translated by looking at the required levels of competence in quality and cost, contribution and innovation of the IT (-organization). For instance the IT-organization might have to employ a different value proposition than the business.

The IT-business strategy product gets you on the road fast to choose the right strategy for your IT and IT-organization. From the opening moves to the endgame. From a basic document to a full elaborated measurable and realizable strategy. On this page you find information about this product.

In the IT customer perspective three levels of significance can be distinguished, that relate to the issues discussed in the IT-strategy service-page:

IT-availability, reliability and performance (quality) and cost; the productivity of the IT (competence of the IT and IT-organization).

Information provision and time-to-market to support the business processes; IT-products and services for the business itself (IT-contribution to the business).

Information provision and time-to-market to innovate and extend the business processes; IT-products and services for the customers of the business (realization of the business strategy with IT).

That IT is be productive, efficient, is actually a basic condition. The quality should be in balance with the costs. The added value of IT lies in the contribution to and realization of the business strategy. From the support to the innovation of the business with IT. From the support of business processes to the realization of the business value proposition.

IT-contribution and realization respectively relate to the internal and customer perspective of the business strategy. In the financial/results perspectives they make up the added value of IT to the business strategy. The IT-competence determines the IT-productivity. For the business as the owner of the IT (and IT-department) the added value of IT and the IT-productivity result in the owner value of IT. Similar to the shareholder value in the business strategy:

For the business the steps from competence via contribution to realization make up the growth path in IT-value. For the IT-organization these are different value propositions to the business though. As is shown in the figure above, the value proposition of the IT does not have to be the same as the value proposition of the business. Just as in the value proposition of the business, a choice has to be made in the IT-value proposition. That choice depends on the maturity of the IT-organization and the ambition of the business with its IT. The key question is: how should the IT-organization deliver added value to the business?

Efficient for itself?

Efficient for the business?

Or doesn't that matter, as long as the IT generates extra turnover for the business?

An IT-organization that is efficient for itself, manages its resources more careful. Sometimes the business then has to wait for these resources. The other way round an IT-organization that is efficient for the business takes up more costs, because its resources sometimes have to wait for the business. In case an IT-organization tries to aim at both, the consequence can be that no efficiency is achieved, neither for the IT nor for the business. If the IT-costs have to be reduced, while the contribution has to be increased, the business should realize whether her ambition with IT is in proportion to the maturity of the IT-organization.

By means of the table below both the ambition with IT and the maturity of the IT-organization can be assessed. The differences indicate the path of growth to be followed. With that for each path of growth feasible objectives can be formulated in time:

[source: 'Enabling the strategy focussed IT-organization', Robert S. Gold, Harvard Business School Publishing, 2001]

On the basis of analysis, such as these, the outlines of your IT-strategy are charted fast. A first rough draft can usually be delived within weeks. The full elaboration and implementation should not take more than a few months. You can do that yourself or have it taken care of by HIT. In practice a collaboration works best. Then HIT provides the support on the combined standard methods and techniques with direct deployable templates and tools. This way you remain in control and build up knowledge in your organization fast.

Interested?

Please feel free to contact HIT for more information and to help you with your specific business-IT issues. An orientating talk is free of obligations and can already clarify a lot of affairs.

The service of HIT is deliverd by means of solutions, products and services. HIT provides initial support too. The free Q&A support has been here since 1996. Take as well a look at the background-page and the specials (in left margin), to read more background information.