Plan For Aligning It With Business Strategy

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

INTRODUCTION

Information Technology is a key business function for most of the business for keep surviving in the field of the business. Having a high expectation in the business investment in IT also will give a benefit into the future of the business. Expectation that will enable the business to :

Reduce cost

Standardize processes

Enhance productivity

Improve workflow and communications

Implement new business strategy

Gain competitive advantage by exploiting new technology

And yet, until fairly recently, the traditional role reserved for IT has also are use for make the improvement in business and business plan. IT has been mereley implementation tool, not instrinsically involever in making the business strategy. Now, there are more new business opportunities that give chance to the entrepreneur and also channel to market are created by technology development. So it is our duty to make sure that our IT and business strategy function are completely synchronised towards comman business oriented goals.

Most sre completely technology-centric and focused purely on technology product, of one shape or another. This makes it all the more challenging to align the IT and business strategies-because we are constantly comparing apple and orange.

All to often that is because IT strategy is link into the business, more or less an afterthought.

We also have throw out the old thinking traditional fitting business functionality into an IT strategy, there are a few question that is related to the following fundamental question :

What did we need for the future?

What have we got now?

How do we need to change to make our dream become reality?

How do we make sure that IT that we are use a still relevent to the business enviroment?

OBJECTIVE

Define what we mean by "Aligning IT with the Business"

Discuss why alignment is important

Share ideas regarding how to establish and maintain alignment

Provide a framework for establishing alignment

BODY OF ARTICLE

Today it is widely recognised that having the information systems knowledge is very important to all managers because most organisations need information systems to survive and prosper. In the modern times, information systems have become an essential part of all types of business as information systems provide the opportunity for organisations to integrate with their business strategy. A strategic plan is a different thing with the operational plan. The former should be different and contrast to an operational plan which is likely to be shorter term, tactical, focused, implementable and measurable. For example, we can compare the process of planning a trip (where, when, duration, budget, who goes, how travel are all strategic issues) with the final preparations (tasks, deadlines, funding, weather, packing, transport and so on are all operational matters).

From a business perspective, an information system is an organisational and management solution, based on information systems, to a challenge posed by the environment. To fully understand information systems, a manager must understand the broader organisation, management, and information systems dimensions of systems and their power to provide solutions to challenges and problems in the business environment . Management needs to know what evaluation methods are already in place for alignment to be feasible. IS strategy can be defined as a strategy to implement information systems that recognises organisational requirements, in other words ‘demand’ for the information and systems to support the overall business strategy and its plan to gain or maintain the advantage . An IS strategy should include the business needs for the future aligned closely to the business strategy. It should also define and prioritise the investments needed to achieve the application portfolio.

Aligning information systems to the organisational strategy goals has appeared to be a concern for managers over the last decade. Alignment is defined as "the capacity to demonstrate a positive relationship between information systems and the accepted financial measures of performance". One of the most extensively used models of alignment is the Strategic Alignment Model proposed by Henderson and Venkatraman This multidimensional model identifies the internal and external dimensions and how these can be integrated functionally with the organisational strategy. Basically, the majority of alignment models are based on the organisational structure and their objectives. This model places alignment at the heart of the organisation’s needs. Many of these models also reveal the influence of the organisation’s objectives on the alignment as this type of model focuses on the connection between strategy and technology. To develop an attainable level of alignment within an organisation, the IT purpose has to be located within the organisational structure.

Managers should foresee to achieve a good alignment between information systems and business for smooth work of the organisation. Many organisations structure IT and information flow in a way to be centralised thus resulting in the control of information which in turn may result significant power structure within the company. While, information systems can provide encouragement how an organisation is structured, it can also "centralise decision making at a certain level as it increases the capacity to process information" . Changes in strategy, rules, and procedures will also require changes of a few product like hardware, software, databases, and a telecommunications stuff. The relationship between information systems and organisations results from the growing reach and scope of system projects and applications . Technology is an important aspect in complete the business strategy. This is dependent on the type of information systems infrastructure used as a resource to assist in granting business goals. In aligning infrastructure with business strategy it is the hardest when changing business strategy and information systems infrastructure. For business and information systems strategies to be aligned it is necessary to clearly define business and IT goals and review the formulation of these goals. It is important for good alignment that IT professionals be involved during business planning and business professionals to be involved during IT planning . At the early stages of any information systems project, the project must reveal its connection to business plans and how this is to line up with corporate purpose. The IT project plan must constantly be reviewed to enable the alignment to adapt with the changing business environment. At the planning phase of an information systems project it must be ensured to be aligned with business objectives. It is also important to implement performance measures and targets and evaluate performance before and after implementation. The alignment of IT with business strategy may need the organisation to modify various features of the organisational business operations, structures and cultures. The achievement of such success for alignment will mainly depend on the success of the organisations capacity to manage this change. The level of change to improve and align business with IT strategy will depend on the situation of the organisation and the degree to which alignment is already present . According to Premkumar and King , the alignment of IT plan and business plan results in information resources supporting the business objectives and taking advantage of the opportunities arising from the use of IT. Kearns and Lederer also state that, "the alignment of the Information System plan with the business plan, is the direct reference in the IS plan to the business plan’s mission, objectives and strategies". Nolan gave this model. He suggested that the organizations go through the six stages of the IT growth. Each stage has four active processes- application portfolio, user’s role and awareness, IT resources and management planning. The growth rate is compared with the expenditure.

FACTORS THAT PROMOTE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN BUSINESS AND IT STRATEGY

A useful means of understanding how organisations can get the right alignment between business and also with the IT Strategy that will to identify factors that promote alignment. Using a comprehensive analysis of relevant literature, ten factors that promote the alignment between business and IT strategies have been identified. The ten factors are:

Firm wide active involvement

Long term focus

Meeting of the minds

Clarity and consistency

Management skill and capability

Alignment facilitating processes

Organisational structure

Organisational culture

Communication

IT as an organisational tool

WHAT IS NECESSARY TO ALIGN IT WITH THE BUSINESS?

• Assure that all IT activities contribute to the goals, objectives, and strategies of the business.

• Encourage Executive Business Management to become continuously involved in plans and decisions regarding the use of information technology.

• Position the IT organization to best address the needs of the business

• Create a customer focused culture in the IT organization

• Enhance the awareness of the value of IT to the business

10 PLAN FOR ALIGNING IT WITH BUSINESS STRATEGY

Understand the business- identify and document all business processes, formal and informal

Acknowlege the culture- analyse the structure, ethos and nature of organisation

Know the IT estate- identify and document all IT assets, application and delivery channel

Discover the value chain- identify and document the relationship/ touch point between the business and the IT estate.

Interpret the content- find and collect intelligence about what is the factor that is internal and external.

Determine the change purpose- analyze all of the contact, the business strategy and the factors that influence, and also identify the impact and implication for the IT estate.

Arrange the technology roadmap- time line,priority and optimise the change agenda

Plan the work proggrame- translate the technology road map into business units plan

Populate the delivery framework- resource the programme

Achive the business benefit- implement the delivery framework

DISCUSSION

Alignment is critical to the successful deployment of IT within the business.

Alignment requires the involvement of Business as well as IT management.

Alignment involves attitude changes in both IT and the business.

Alignment is a process not a project

CONCLUSION

As we can see, Alligning business strategy with IT is very important in business because it give many benefit to a business organization whether it is nationally or internationally. There are so many importance of technology nowadays. It can be use in global business. Advance in technology shape the products and services of the future and offer opportunity for innovative organization to increase their value to the stream of economic activity.

Information technology is particularly important because it is pervasive in the process leading to advances in the most other activities. All activities create, transport, disseminate, or use information. Advances in IT have a compounding effect on technological advances everywhere. Accordingly, information technology is exerting a remarkable and profound effect on worldwide competition.

Advancing technology is important because it alters industry structure, shapes and molds competitive forces within and between companies and industries, and thereby changes forever the behaviour patterns of billions of individuals. Technology for its own sake is not important. What is important is its dramatic impact on society as a whole.

As a conclusion, we can conclude that IT as a competitive advantage in global business because it help business to cooperate and to growth a business rapidly fast. Without the help of IT in aligning the business, it is hard for any organization to operate very well. In order to maintain their company, they must fully utilized the available function of IT.