Business/ IT Alignment

Some insiders at the ZDNet community, talked about their views on B/ I alignment:

John Bagdanov: "The bottom line is IT has to develop healthy working relationships with the business units and the executive office. You have to gain their respect and demonstrate you’re commitment to their success."

Vratislav Paulik: "Business/IT alignment has multiple dimensions, but I would like to focus on the most important one – strategic alignment. Balanced scorecard is a very good tool here. You include IT in the company strategic planning and ensure that the IT strategy is aligned with the business one in all the four balanced scorecard views – financial, customer, quality and employee. On the high level it means that the company objectives are cascaded down to IT in all the four areas, so that IT works in the company’s direction."

Besides EA activities, IT project management activities are frequently involved in B/ I alignment, such as risk management and project control activities.

Wikipedia:
In the Risk3^[4] model, the objective of B/I Alignment is to manage three separate risks associated with IT projects: technical risk (will the system function as it should?), organizational risk (will individuals within the organization use the system as they should?), and business risk (will the implementation and adoption of the system translate into business value?). Business value is jeopardized unless all three risks are managed successfully.

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Info from www.isaca.org Business/ IT Alignment Overview：

Establish processes of bi-directional education and reciprocal involvement in strategic planning to achieve business and IT alignment and integration. Mediate between business and IT imperatives so priorities can be mutually agreed.

Value Drivers IT aligned with the organisation’s mission and goals IT enabling the achievement of the strategic business objectives Optimised return on IT investment Opportunities for innovation identified and exploited

Risk Drivers IT seen as a cost factor The enterprise’s mission not being supported by its IT IT management decisions not following the business direction Lack of common understanding of business and IT priorities, leading to conflicts about allocation of resources and priorities Missed opportunities to exploit new IT capabilities

1. Ensure that IT informs enterprise management and key stakeholders on the current technology environment, possible future trends and value opportunities for the business.
2. Ensure that enterprise management and key stakeholders discuss with IT management future business directions and enterprise goals to collaborate and develop a common understanding of the potential for IT to enable business goals.
3. Ensure that IT management contributes to business strategy planning and identifies capabilities available to support enterprise goals and other opportunities to contribute to business value.
4. Make the scope of the IT strategic and planning initiatives enterprisewide such that they address, document and consider all business and support activities.
5. Ensure current and future business and IT alignment by:
• Technology creating opportunities that the business can turn into enterprise benefits
• Involving IT management in the development of enterprise goals to recognise opportunities and current capability limitations
6. Align business imperatives and priorities with IT capabilities to establish enterprise priorities for inclusion in the IT strategic plan.
7. In conjunction with business representatives, document a prioritised list of business products, services and processes that are critically dependent on IT.