IT's Role in Business Low-level role Business Market Follower Low-level role Business Market Leader High-level role

Business Market Follower High-level role Business Market Leader

Quadrants IT Roles

Quadrant 1

a. Low-level role (tactical/utility) b. Business Market Follower (riskaverse/mature)

Quadrant 2

a. Low-level role (tactical/utility) b. Business Market Leader (risktaker/high growth)

Quadrant 3

Quadrant 4

a. High-level role (strategic/transformational) b. Business Market Follower (riskaverse/mature) a. High-level role (strategic/transformational) b. Business Market Leader (risktaker/high growth)

Example Industries

Key Issues
IT Cost containment, predictability or reliability, continual unit cost improvement, and benchmarking for justification Anticipation of business needs, service levels over cost, and business enablement and facilitation (removal of obstacles) Working well with other functions, IT value realization over time rather than just cost, and being business-processfocused but solution-driven Full business-IT integration, managed risk, and focus on the what rather than on the how.

Mineral extraction and pharmaceuticals

Professional services firms

Auto manufacturing and deregulating utilities

Consumer financial services and web business-to-consumer (B2C) businesses

SN

Governance Activities 1 IT Strategy Committee Should ensure that the IT strategy is reviewed regularly in the light of 2 technological and operational change. Should ascertain and ensure that IT strategy is aligned with the enterprise business strategy and that distributed IT strategies are consistent and 3 integrated Ascertain and ensure that IT delivers against the strategy (delivering on time and within budget, with appropriate functionality and the intended benefits - a fundamental building block of alignment and value delivery) through clear 4 expectations and measurement (e.g., balanced business scorecard) Directing IT strategy by addressing the level and allocation of investments, balancing the investments among systems that support the enterprise as is, transform the enterprise or create an infrastructure that enables the business to 5 grow and compete in new arenas Making considered decisions about the focus of IT resources; ie., their use to break into new markets, drive competitive strategies, increase overall revenue 6 generation, improve customer satisfaction and/or assure customer retention Ensuring a culture of openness and collaboration among the business, 7 geographic and functional units of the enterprise 8 Request the IT Strategy Plan Enterprise Architecture Enterprise Architecture includes the following a. Business Unit Architecture - Core business processes supporting the enterprises' mission b. Information Architecture - Original documents, data, revisions and responsible organizational units c. Information Systems Architecture (Applications) - Specifications, requirements, applications, modules, databases and procedures d. Data Architecture (Data Description) - Data models such physical database design, database and file structures, data definitions, data dictionaries and data elements that underlie the information systems of the enterprise e. Delivery System Architecture (Technology and Communication Infrastructure) - Functional characteristics, capabilities and interconnections of the hardware, software and communications (networks, protocols, and nodes) the wiring diagram of the physical IT infrastructure and facility support 1 requirements Enterprise architecture can be described as the knowledge that drives the business, the information necessary to operate the business, the technologies necessary to support the business operations, and the overall processes 2 necessary for implementing IT to respond to the changing needs of business.