IT strategy. To be or not to be
On hh.ru there are a lot of IT directors' vacancies, where the responsibilities include “Development and implementation of an IT strategy”. And I, in turn, want to share some of my thoughts on two issues:
1. When does having an IT strategy become vital for a company? That is, at what point does the CIO need to require a clearly formalized document?
2. What must be taken into account in IT strategy? What makes a good IT strategy different from a bad one?
To begin with, about IT strategies in your own words - in essence, this is a plan that shows how IT will support the business. It includes an agreed long-term plan for the development of information technology and a portfolio of projects in specific areas. The key word is agreed. Coordinated with the leaders of the main business units and senior management. The IT strategy solves two problems: it shows where the IT department will go, and it shows where the money will be spent and what effect this will have on the business.
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My answer:
IT strategy in one form or another should be in any company. From simple, on 5 slides, presentations, to the serious formalized documents. The degree of IT strategy elaboration directly depends on the size of the business. This is ideally the case, you say. Yes, most Russian companies either do not have IT strategies at all, or partially. The main function of IT in such companies is “plugging holes”. This is a “zoo of technologies”, partial or complete opacity of IT, as well as increasing dissatisfaction with users of IT services. Do you recognize yourself partially or completely? Then the answer is obvious to you! This is the first step towards the development of an IT strategy and I hope you are already creating the “skeleton of a future strategy”.
My minimum:
• analysis of current IT activities
• IT business requirements - IT objectives that meet these requirements.
• IT vision (IT architecture, including IT management, choice of technologies, software and hardware, etc.)
• a portfolio of projects with timelines and budgets for achieving the state described in the previous paragraph.
Someone will say that this is almost a business plan. Yeah, it is. You, as CIO offer business to spend money. In return, you promise mountains of gold, automation of business processes and cost reduction. A good strategy recognizes problems and mistakes, IT objectives are aligned with business strategy and business requirements. Also behind the goals should always be a specific plan to achieve. Blurry or non-specific goals are a sign of a bad strategy.
The goals of IT and the portfolio of projects seem to me the most interesting points in IT strategy. I will write about this in the next article. Questions and wishes?
1. When does having an IT strategy become vital for a company? That is, at what point does the CIO need to require a clearly formalized document?
2. What must be taken into account in IT strategy? What makes a good IT strategy different from a bad one?
To begin with, about IT strategies in your own words - in essence, this is a plan that shows how IT will support the business. It includes an agreed long-term plan for the development of information technology and a portfolio of projects in specific areas. The key word is agreed. Coordinated with the leaders of the main business units and senior management. The IT strategy solves two problems: it shows where the IT department will go, and it shows where the money will be spent and what effect this will have on the business.
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"In the life of every man, a moment comes when he decisively breaks ..." Sorry, I could not refrain from quoting.
Now to the first question. When does IT strategy become vital?
My answer:
IT strategy in one form or another should be in any company. From simple, on 5 slides, presentations, to the serious formalized documents. The degree of IT strategy elaboration directly depends on the size of the business. This is ideally the case, you say. Yes, most Russian companies either do not have IT strategies at all, or partially. The main function of IT in such companies is “plugging holes”. This is a “zoo of technologies”, partial or complete opacity of IT, as well as increasing dissatisfaction with users of IT services. Do you recognize yourself partially or completely? Then the answer is obvious to you! This is the first step towards the development of an IT strategy and I hope you are already creating the “skeleton of a future strategy”.
To the second question. What should be necessarily taken into account in IT strategy?
My minimum:
• analysis of current IT activities
• IT business requirements - IT objectives that meet these requirements.
• IT vision (IT architecture, including IT management, choice of technologies, software and hardware, etc.)
• a portfolio of projects with timelines and budgets for achieving the state described in the previous paragraph.
Someone will say that this is almost a business plan. Yeah, it is. You, as CIO offer business to spend money. In return, you promise mountains of gold, automation of business processes and cost reduction. A good strategy recognizes problems and mistakes, IT objectives are aligned with business strategy and business requirements. Also behind the goals should always be a specific plan to achieve. Blurry or non-specific goals are a sign of a bad strategy.
The goals of IT and the portfolio of projects seem to me the most interesting points in IT strategy. I will write about this in the next article. Questions and wishes?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/197642/
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