IT/Business alignment is an objective that eludes many IT leaders. It is a topic that receives a lot of attention from IT management, academics, consultants and journalists. A Google search will surface more than 12 million results. CIO Magazine’s 2007 State of the CIO Survey revealed that alignment remains the most common top-five priority of IT leaders.
The Five Dimensions of IT/Business Alignment
One of the reasons that IT/Business alignment remains so elusive is its complexity. Alignment cannot be achieved with a single approach, process or technique. There are many factors that need to be taken into account, from process discipline and metrics to relationship and communication style.
Info-Tech’s point of view is that IT/Business alignment is really comprised of five dimensions:
- Personality Alignment
- Organization Alignment
- Strategic Alignment
- Tactical Alignment
- Financial Alignment
This note suggests how to assess organization alignment and actions to take to better align IT to the business.
