Effective I.T. Alignment

This is a link to a summary of the original MIT Sloan article:

Avoiding the Alignment Trap in Information Technology.

By: David Shpilberg, Steve Berez, Rudy Puryear and Sachin Shah



http://www.bain.com/bainweb/Publications/newsletter_detail.asp?id=26136&menu_url=newsletters.asp




This article addresses the idea that before I.T. can truly align with the business goals they must become effective with where they are currently. The “trap” happens when the I.T. group is highly aligned with the business and not very effective at producing desired deliverables. It is important to note the order of these two: Effectiveness comes first and alignment comes second. Here are some additional thoughts I have from this article:


The article does not address the leadership required to develop and increase the effectiveness of the I.T. department. I believe a change agent from within the I.T. department must develop compelling reasons to move from the maintenance philosophy to a “well-oiled” strategy (see four square chart in article). The hardened culture in a maintenance driven I.T. department is difficult to change because the priorities are to keep the business running. Anything beyond that is viewed as superfluous and in the way of supporting the business. This change must be driven from within the I.T. department. An element of excitement and focus needs to be ignited around a common vision that will push the team to a better place than where it is currently. It takes a strong leader to paint a clear path to the future state of operation and change the culture to focus on business alignment.



Once the I.T. department is effectively implementing projects, there must be a realization by the business that investment in the stale, aged I.T. infrastructure is required. Most business divisions are looking for quick returns. In the case of I.T. infrastructure, the returns may not be seen for several years. This poses a difficult choice for business units.



There will be a point in the business evolution that growth will stop because the infrastructure cannot keep up with the demands of the business. In as much as the internal I.T. culture must change, the business must re-image the I.T. department as a partner worth investing in. This re-imaging will become a synergistic pull that will add to the I.T. department’s push. The process will accelerate and the returns will happen faster than expected thus prompting more infrastructure investment. It is this push/pull/invest cycle that will turn the maintenance culture into one of innovation that adds true value to the business. In the end, the whole corporation wins when there is effective alignment of I.T. with the needs of the business.