Aligning IT with corporate strategy is tough, and the results of this years CIO Insight survey on the issue show why. More than 80 percent of the 745 IT executives and 543 business executives surveyed say alignment at their companies has improved over the past three years—yet less than 30 percent say their IT organizations meet the needs of their companies very effectively. But the results also hold a key to helping solve the problem: Follow the money. The survey highlighted a number of funding techniques and processes that can help promote better IT alignment. Dont cap overall IT spending arbitrarily. Make sure your IT budgeting process is flexible and clearly defined, that allocation decisions are well-grounded in strategic performance goals, and that as much of your actual spending as possible is accounted for in the budget. And link the pay of both IT executives and their colleagues on the business side to the successful completion of the IT initiatives theyre involved with. The name of the alignment game is flexibility and collaboration.
The results are available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. To download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in, click here.
- How Does IT Funding Affect Alignment?
- 39% of CIOs say their IT budgeting practices present an obstacle to alignment
- 78% of CIOs say their pay is tied to successfully executing IT initiatives
- 79% of CIOs say capping IT spending presents an obstacle to alignment
- 26% of CIOs say their governance practices present an obstacle to alignment