Over the last decade, the alignment between business and IT has become increasingly critical to an organization’s success. This shift has given IT leaders a seat at the table as accepted partners of the business.Too many business leaders still see IT as nothing more than an internal service provider: an important, but replaceable, function.
In this technology-driven environment, IT can feel like an anchor, slowing down the organization’s ability to adapt and respond. That’s because IT strategy is based on the current technology landscape. And while strategies will anticipate emerging technologies, the speed of such emergence makes those projections uncertain and subject to change.
To be respected as true partners of the business, IT leaders must succeed in this environment—and here’s how they can do it.IT used to be an execution function. Everything from the largest program to the smallest help desk ticket was geared around enhancing the hardware, software, and network infrastructure. That model becomes more obsolete every month, and IT must evolve from an execution focus to an intelligence focus to stay relevant.
Think about it—IT leaders are in the best position to understand which emerging technologies will be disruptive, which will provide opportunities, and which can be ignored. Business leaders need this guidance if they are going to make the right decisions on where to focus their work, resources, and money, what kind of performance goals should be set, and when adjustments must be made—but they simply don’t have enough insight into technology at the leading edge. That has to come from IT.
IT leaders have the opportunity to evolve from a role of service provider to one of trusted advisor, owning their part of making the entire enterprise successful. But to do that, they must change how they view themselves and technology. Those who succeed will become a driving force in organizational success. The ones who can’t will find themselves sidelined, their functions becoming increasingly obsolete as the business moves on without them.