McKinsey Quarterly poses this question in the latest issue with some case study information. The fundamental issue is an old one: the IT budget being spent on maintenance, with smart investment being what gets squeezed out. But the illustrations suggest ways to move forward. It’s not the old “Align IT with the business” mantra, which still starts from the assumption that IT somehow is outside and separate from “the business” and that the disconnect is IT’s problem.
This article admittedly starts by profiling a dysfunctional CIO who doesn’t understand the issue. But it looks at the issue from the whole business perspective – that is, the CEO’s. It shows how investment can be viewed, even when it’s core infrastructure that’s at issue; it talks about benchmarking capabilities against non-competitive industries, not just competitors; and highlights some of the perceived wisdom which can, sometimes, be plain wrong and a distraction from the real challenges.
How strategic is our technology agenda? McKinsey Quarterly, Oct 2011
Filed under: Impact of IT, IT is business, ITasITis, Managing IT, Technorati Tagged: investment, McKinsey, strategy
