IT Strategy

The challenge

As the CIO you 3 (well, more most likely) challenges posed to you by your CEO

• Focus on the business strategy.
• Drive and embed digital transformation into the business strategy.
• Attract and retain the best employees and/or build out the "extended company" so that you have the right resources to support the business strategy.

Unfortunately, 47% of the business leaders state that they do not feel that IT is supporting their business goals.

And many IT departments state they lack the skills the formulate an IT strategy that conforms with the business value creation model. 

Our advice

Insight

• IT has to focus its efforts on supporting the business strategy. Merely having a list of projects is not a strategy. Everything you do must have a direct link to business value creation goals.
• IT needs to help the business stakeholders understand how the IT initiatives fit within the value creation strategy of the company.
• Having a well-crafted IT strategy in place will enhance your partner's satisfaction and build strong bridges.

Impact and results 

• Look at the business context and derive your IT strategy from there. You can use our implications framework to get started.
• Communication is everything. use our Executive Presentation Template to clearly articulate how your initiatives support and enhance he value creation capabilities of your company.
• Align the IT priorities with the business via our prioritization matrix. Make decisions in a holistic manner.
• Walk your stakeholders through the way you created your strategy. Yes we hav tool for that: our IT Strategy Template

The roadmap

Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:

The executive brief and templates

• Build a Business-Aligned IT Strategy – Executive Brief (ppt)
• Build a Business-Aligned IT Strategy – Phases 1-3 (ppt)
• IT Strategy Template (ppt)
• IT Strategy Executive Presentation Template (ppt)

Identify the target state

Start from the business context and derive your IT's target state from there. You will be aligned as a result.

• Build a Business-Aligned IT Strategy – Phase 1: Identify the Target State (ppt)
• IT Implications Checklist (doc)
• IT Vision, Mission, and Guiding Principles Guide (ppt)

Assess the current state

Conduct an assessment of the IT department and its current capabilities and directions to understand the transformation you will need to undertake.

• Build a business-aligned IT strategy – Phase 2: Assess the current state

Build your steps to close the gap and create your strategy

Analyse your current capabilities and map them against the target state. Formulate initiatives to close the gap and get implementation approval. 

• Powerpoint icon 20x20
• Build a Business-Aligned IT Strategy – Phase 3: Bridge the Gap and Create the Strategy (ppt)
• L-M-H Initiative Prioritization Tool (xls)