The current pace of digital transformation requires that technology move quickly to address existing and evolving business needs. Even today, however, across many organizations, tech teams may not have complete visibility into what the business is doing – or where it is going – and in-house IT professionals are busy repairing systems and troubleshooting problems. This is where IT Support Denver comes in. Having a solid foundation in IT is not just about implementing the latest innovations: it is about ensuring IT-business alignment.

The only way to grow and evolve as a business is by not looking at technology in a silo but as a driver for business success. Instead of solely investing in advanced technology systems to boost performance, enhance agility, and increase quality, it is time for organizations to tie technology metrics to business goals and objectives and measure the ROI of technology in terms of business effectiveness.

This article will discuss a few ways to ensure technology-business alignment effectively. We hope that this article will help you to achieve a better working relationship with your technology team, as well as help you streamline your business processes.

What is IT-Business Alignment?

IT Business Alignment bridges the silos between business and IT teams. It helps teams understand how technology is essential to their business’s growth and success. Rather than looking at IT as a cost center, the alignment allows for technology to be viewed as a strategic enabler that aids in the decision-making process across the business spectrum: from security and investments to governance and policies.

Although business and IT teams have vastly different roles and purposes, they ultimately share one underlying objective: to offer a seamless and satisfying customer experience that positively impacts business outcomes.

The framework is a step-by-step process of aligning business goals with IT capabilities. The first step in this process is identifying the core business processes. This can be done through interviews with key stakeholders and reviewing existing documentation such as corporate strategy, mission statements, business plans, etc. Once these processes have been identified, the business can prioritize which processes need to be supported by technology and which processes can be supported by manual operations. The business can also evaluate how the prioritized processes are executed in the organization.

3 Effective Ways to Ensure Technology-Business Alignment

Read on for a few tips on enabling successful IT-Business alignment and matching the pace of technology transformation to business transformation within your organization.

1.    Business relationships should be close

Whether face-to-face or Zoom-to-Zoom, IT leaders should set aside time to meet and discuss important matters with business leaders across their enterprise.

Building close alignment between IT and business requires committing to earnest, insightful discussions. Imagine, for instance, a conversation about AI. In this example, the business leader wants to adopt this technology but doesn’t understand that AI is primarily cloud-based or that AI works best when fuelled by large amounts of data. By explaining the concepts behind AI in a straightforward manner, the business leader can be introduced to the building blocks for AI, and the IT leader can develop an acceptable strategy.

When developing close ties in IT, you must listen to and learn from your business counterparts. IT leaders can’t create a plan to enable business priorities. When you talk to business leaders, sharing your goals is best, removing the guesswork around business needs and intentions. Remember, too, that IT is a key player in defining the corporate vision.

2.    Build Customer trust

Successful relationships are built on trust, transparency, mutual respect, and shared goals. Professional connections are no different.

Failing to align IT and business interests gradually erodes hard-earned trust. It fuels skepticism in technology strategies, promotes a culture of blame, reduces patience, and forces planning into unproductive levels of detail, resulting in a false sense of precision. When business leaders have confidence in their IT organization, everything moves faster. Decision-making is crisper, risk-taking is increased, and teams spend more time executing than planning.

Establishing a constant, open communication culture is another crucial step in building close and trustworthy business collaborations.

3.    Learn from surveys

Surveys are designed to provide deep insights into the overall business vision, including strategy, key priorities, and required capabilities. Palmer notes that IT surveys have traditionally focused on technology and service quality in areas such as help desk support, delivery reliability, systems stability, and security. Times have changed, however. A modern survey should target how IT can help drive the business vision. The goal is to capture the outcomes required to win around the core strategy, such as growth, profit, customer experience, and innovation.

Conclusion

These ways to effectively ensure technology-business alignment can be a daunting task. Still, by following these simple and efficient guidelines, you will be on your way to a successful and smooth relationship with your information technology team.

Post courtesy: Greystone Technology – IT Services Provider in Denver, Colorado.