Even more Vital to get IT right in Tough Economy
There is no doubt that the current difficult financial circumstances are making it harder for businesses to succeed and grow. Based on the experience of previous economic recessions the ability of companies to survive and thrive in the face of adversity is strongly linked to their ability to exploit IT for their advantage.
However many companies recognise that IT is a necessary enabler of business success in difficult economic conditions as is reflected by continuing demand for IT skills. Sean Costello, chief executive officer of IT recruiter Elan predicts that the UK IT jobs market will grow by 2.8% in 2008 (source Recruiter magazine). So given that the money to invest in IT is scarce at present, it is absolutely imperative that the money is well spent. In the boom times over the last few years, companies might have been able to get away with poor IT decisions by spending more to put them right. But today making mistakes with IT can be far more damaging.
Senior management in small and medium sized companies lack the time and expertise to establish their IT effectively, and are unable to afford an expensive IT Director to resolve this issue for them. Consequently these companies hit some common IT pitfalls that cost significant time and money to sort out, for example implementing:
- An IT solution that doesn't work as promised for the business
- A software product lacks flexibility and consequently inhibits the company from adapting and evolving its business
- Piecemeal IT systems that do not integrate with the other IT systems in the company
- Doing nothing to avoid spending money on what would be a necessary investment.
IT Strategic Planning drives effective IT
IT becomes effective when it supports the business rather than inhibits it. In these tough economic times many companies are reassessing their business goals and devising measures to survive and compete. It makes sense to use the overall business objectives, and factors critical to achieving them, to derive the creation of an IT plan. This is the foundation of an IT Strategic plan.
The IT Strategic plan is the essential ingredient that enables the company to ensure that it gets IT right in a difficult economy. It addresses how all aspects of the company’s IT work towards the business objectives ensuring that scarce funds are wisely spent. The plan is characterised by describing:
- A business systems portfolio of projects that have been prioritised by the senior management according to business contribution
- An architecture to ensure all systems are flexible and work together
- The supporting technology that the new systems will need to be able to operate effectively.
- How the IT will be delivered, by estimating the effort, timescale and approach for implementing the plan and defining the IT organisation and staffing to achieve it
- The estimated costs that would be incurred (IT budget).
Get professional help
IT Strategic planning requires a range of Business and IT experience such that company management would benefit from independent professional help.
- 18/09/2008
- Source: Bizcit