The New Rules of IT-Business Alignment in the Digital Era

In today’s world of everything-as-a-service, with technology increasingly moving outside IT’s direct control and most organizations striving for digital transformation, aligning IT strategy with business strategy looks very different than it did a few years ago. And success in this essential area is governed by a whole new rulebook.

There are three rules to make IT-business alignment work in today’s world.

Rule No. 1: Balancing maintenance and innovation is crucial — and more difficult than ever

Rule No. 2: IT may no longer control all technology, but it’s still responsible for making sure nothing goes wrong

Rule No. 3: IT must commit to the success of every department — and of the organization as a whole

According to a Gartner report released in late 2016, only 23 percent of CIOs are seen as a trusted business ally by their CEOs. Dan Zimmerman, CIO of B2B payments company TreviPay, thinks he knows why. “They’re spending too much of their time keeping the lights on and not understanding the needs of the customers or how the business needs to evolve,” he says.

But many IT leaders face a seemingly impossible choice. If they focus their attention on keeping the lights on, IT risks being seen as a cost center rather than a business driver. IT professionals may be perceived as a high-tech version of plumbers whose job is the digital equivalent of making sure water comes out when users turn on the tap.

Read the full article by Minda Zetlin on www.cio.com