Is your Business and IT aligned?

​It is slightly more than one month since I’ve launched my eBook and I hope you have found the time to read it – if not I encourage you to do so.

It’s been a great month! Shortly after launching the “Strategic Impact of IT Trends in the Pharmaceutical Industry”, I was invited as a guest speaker to talk to an MBA class at Cass Business School, in London.

This was an amazing opportunity for me to share my views about “Business and IT alignment” and the importance of technology in their roles as future managers. Likewise, it was very insightful to learn about the student’s perception of new IT trends and the impact they will have on the organisations business and operating models.

I believe there is little doubt that in the past only CIOs and IT departments would need to talk IT. Today this is a mandatory skill set for everyone in leadership roles, and I would even argue that it is a requirement for everyone in the organisation.

Why is it so critical? Simply because regardless of industry, the world today is driven by technology. Thus, the challenge lies in choosing the best technology for the organisation, not necessarily the latest technology.

The organisation’s vision and strategic goals definition can no longer ignore such facts and therefore they must be fully aligned to different IT options available to the business. This is what defines the best technology for an organisation.

Being aware of what is available with regards to technology is a competitive advantage for decision makers. Firstly because it allows them to ask the right questions, and therefore enables them to invest wisely; secondly because it empowers them to filter which technology drives organisations to achieve their strategic goals and which does not add nor create value.

Decision makers and leadership teams are realising that having an IT-savvy​ workforce and the Millennials always on is both an amazing opportunity as it is a disruption for the organisation. They need to assume the roles of technology evangelists in their organisations to reap all the benefits (e.g. collaboration and knowledge management) whilst mitigating the risk of shadow IT and other pitfalls that result in wasting valuable resources.

What’s needed is a unified vision and approach that meets the organisation’s strategic objectives. IT must become increasingly fluent in the language of business, and business leaders must become more conversant in the language of IT. (Forbes, 2015)

How is it in your organisation? Is Business and IT aligned?

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