Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Perspectives on Role of IT

Canadian survey looks for input on skills shortage and offers perspective on the role of IT. Execs see IT in a run-the-business role while IT pros aspire for greater business impact. ...

... "The survey found that most executives view system upkeep and maintenance as the most important role for IT, but three-quarters of IT professionals want a chance to play a larger and more strategic role in their organization. " ...


Via Ottawa Business Journal: Survey

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posted by Frank M @ 8:34 PM, Read More...  
4 comments links to this post

4 Comments:

At 10:33 AM, Anonymous Paul Ritchie said...

Hi Frank,
This divide isn't surprising based on my experience and some of the research out there. Too many IT folks want to be "strategic," when that role only applies to part of their portfolio. The business gets frustrated when CIOs spend too much time strategizing and too little time on basic business alignment and execution.

I'm going to try to blog on this in the next couple of days. Very interesting topic.

Best,
Paul

http://crossderry.wordpress.com

 
At 11:54 AM, Blogger Bill & Leah said...

In a lot of companies "IT" is viewed very much like a utility, the electric company for example. It's necessary to "keep the lights on" but not needed for much else.
I wonder what would happen if "IT" started to behave the same as a utility. Send monthly bills to the company for their use of "IT" based on usage. Guarantee a certain high level of availability and refund when those levels aren't met. For additional services, new applications, new hardware, etc. establish a "customer assistance department" to help them and charge accordingly. As needed, go to the budgetary authority for "rate" increases to cover the cost of infrastructure upgrades "to keep the lights on."
Who would scream? Would it work?

Thanks,
Bill

 
At 4:05 PM, Anonymous Joseph Ingemi said...

IT Departments must better align their IT goals with Business Strategy.

The best place to do this is in project charter development when the business case analysis is completed.

The analysis should put
1) the business need in terms of capability.
2) provide a robust Cost-Benefit Analysis.

 
At 9:33 PM, Blogger Frank M said...

Hi. Thanks for your thoughts. I tend to focus on how we can leverage info tech to realize additional or new business value. Of course, real tangible financial IT projects are a modest portion of the investment portfolio.

However, keeping the utility functioning well is critical to maintaining a seat at the table.

Re strategic focus, I like Tom Peters advice to screw around vigorously. He has some fun advice on strategic planning.

 

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