IT success, circa 2010: just say the magic words - Business IT Alignment

It seems that Business IT Alignment is one of the hot buzzwords for 2010.

Joe McKendrick IT expert who writes for the on-line tech publication ZDNet wrote yesterday that for IT Success circa 2010: just say the magic words "Business IT Alignment."

This is surprising to me and not in the same breath. I am surprised because to my mind business IT has always had no meaning or value outside how it forwarded overall business goals. This is apparently a notion not shared by all IT people. At the same time I am not surprised that this is on peoples minds, obviously the era of endless IT budgets is over. 

In a recent study published by BusinessWeek Taking the Temperature of the CEO-CIO Relationship reports that Forty-seven percent say they have neutral or negative perceptions of the CIO-business working relationship.  This is obviously a two way street.

Many CIOs would probably report the same feelings toward their CEOs. They attribute project overruns or failures to a lack of consistent direction and commitment from upper management.

At this point it does not really matter who is right. It is critical for CEOs and CIOs, or what ever the equivalent roles are called in your small business, to align and work together to achieve new business goals.

This concept is not new.  Paul A. Strassmann defined it in a paper published in August 1998, What is Alignment?  He said, "Business/IT alignment is a desired state in which a business organization is able to use information technology (IT) effectively to achieve business objectives"  and "alignment is the capacity to demonstrate a positive relationship between information technologies and the accepted financial measures of performance."

The BusinessWeek article paints a funny picture "While they are not Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, a company's CEO and CIO can at times make a fairly odd couple. Differing agendas create significant challenges from the outset." 

There is probably no easy answer to the dilemma but one thing is for certain CEOs and CIOs, or Presidents or Owners and their IT Consultants are surely well served by making a greater effort to work together to achieve what must be common business goals.  CEOs, business owners must take an proactive and engaged roll in the adoption and implementation of IT. CIOs, IT managers or Consultants must be allowed to actively partake in the business planning and management process. 

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