Comments on Agility is Sensible: The Business of Information Technology (Part 1)

Bala - Like I always say, it takes two to tango....

2010-01-10T09:30:15.601-06:00

Bala -

Like I always say, it takes two to tango. IT leadership is usually responding to stimuli from their business partners, so their 'normal' predicament is almost expected. The trouble is, instead of striving to understand their internal business model and aligning it to that of the business, most IT leaders bypass this crucial step and simply repeat the mantra of 'we're in business of ...' - which is generally anything but IT.

BC-

I think we're in agreement there, except I'm worried that most people interpret RITLAB as nothing more than financial management that boils down to cost containment. A business-based model would have sales, marketing, strategy/profitability, content management, communications, etc., etc. From what we're seeing in the market, it is to find IT departments that follow RITLAB beyond financial management.

AAB

While I would agree that enterprises cannot affor...

2010-01-08T13:35:46.995-06:00

While I would agree that enterprises cannot afford IT to be anything less than a 'trusted partner' of business, I do believe that IT needs to follow the RITLAB (run IT like a business) model. IT needs to demonstrate its contribution to enterprise profitability and to the customer experience. Without these tie-ins, IT is just another cost center, and thus, subject to dicta from the CFO, without regard to long-term impact.

Brilliant thoughts Aleks!. I couldn't agree mo...

2010-01-05T09:02:58.369-06:00

Brilliant thoughts Aleks!. I couldn't agree more.

As of today, the IT is run as a business, using General Management principles. Pretty much close to managing the balance sheet, not really worried about the business value.

However, I would say, the CEOs, the business leaders are also contributing to the problem. They treat IT as a cost center and challenge them to cut costs rather than deliver value for their competitive advantage. If that is the expectation, What can you expect from IT leadership?