4. IT Strategy

Last week I talked about Business IT Alignment.  This week I go a little further into developing an IT Strategy.

There are multiple reasons why a company may decide (or should decide) to do an IT Strategy Project.  Some obvious ones are:

• Merger or Acquisition
• New Business Strategy to align with
• Time for a refresh (I think every IT Department should refresh their strategy every four to six years).

Each piece of the strategy needs to address:

• What you have
• What is available (often, but not always a key component)
• Where you need to go (to align with the Business strategy)
• How to get there

The actual execution of the project can clearly benefit from outside help.  Like all strategies, an outside-in perspective is helpful.  That said, internal resources need to play a key role in the project as well to ensure buy-in and ownership.  Boutique firm or large firm doesn’t matter as much as the cultural fit and personal relationships of the key players.

Common components of a strategy include:

• People & Organization
• Technology
• Applications
• Governance

Sub teams can be effectively used to address each component in the pieces mentioned above.  For example, the section on governance should address major projects, smaller projects, baseline requests, how they should be handled, whether a formal or informal PPM (Project Portfolio Management) process is needed, how it should be staffed, rolled out, communicated, etc.

If the Strategy fails to describe in some detail how it should be implemented, in what sequence, and in what time frame, it almost sure to be a waste of time and effort and it will never be implemented.
Different tools can be used for each component.  For applications in particular, there are some great graphical tools that can be used.  So much can be illustrated through quadrants by using:

• X and Y axis can show items like:
• Level of support needed (IT view)
• User Satisfaction (User view)
• Viability of support (vendor or even hardware platform for an old application)
• Circles for Applications / processes with size showing complexity and color how well it fits the future business need. 

What attributes you choose to cover will be partially determined by what problem you are trying to solve!

A project like this for an average sized firm should usually take six to twelve weeks from the actual kick-off (meaning it is fully staffed and organized).  There needs to be a Steering Committee for this project as well to ensure proper direction and boundary conditions.

The proof of the value of a strategy is in its execution and verification that the goals it set to accomplish are being met.   Quarterly to semi-annual updates should be provided to senior management and personnel objectives should be tied to the results.