If your business model is sound, and you’ve developed the business and management to reach a point of profit, you already know that good systems add value.
Of course, IT systems are just part of the formula, but – according to the Harvard Business Review – businesses that manage IT well have profits 40% higher than others.
The suggestion by Ross and Weill in their article, Six IT Decisions Your IT People Shouldn’t Make is that there are a number of factors that contribute to higher profits (not just IT), but that the common theme is around senior business executives being involved in the IT decision-making process. Essentially, abdicating responsibility for these business decisions to an IT executive does not lead to winning outcomes.
I’m sure we’re all familiar with senior executives in business who claim to have no idea about IT, and leave that entire part of the business to technical people to look after. The position of Ross and Weill is that this assumes that it is the implementation of IT systems that goes astray, and leads to poor adoption and performance of the systems.
Their advice is that implementing a CRM or ERP system, or other business intelligence solution, requires business process redesign and so requires management to get involved in organisational and process-change management to improve adoption and functionality.
More importantly, if we go back a step, clearly defining the business problem before the technologists get involved is key to product design and/or selection. This is a step all too often missed when aligning technology with the business plan.
The key message here is that IT needs to take its lead from the business leaders, and work closely in partnership to achieve valuable outcomes.
The gap is not so much a knowledge gap as a communication gap that must be closed. The business leaders hold the knowledge of the business strategy, and must include technical advisors in their planning conversations to ensure the business leaders understand the role of IT in the future of the organisation.
If senior management is unable to communicate with the technical people supporting the business, it is a recipe for high expense and poor returns. Clearly, the first step is to find IT people who can assist in the strategic conversation and engage those technologists to work with the leadership team to establish the best IT strategies to support the business plan.
David Markus is the founder of Combo – the IT services company that ensures IT is never an impediment to growth. We win awards for the service we offer, so if your IT environment is slowing you down, contact Combo on 1300 726 626 to organise a complimentary consultation with David.
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