Information Technology (IT) Strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how technology should be used to meet IT and business goals.
The following approach can be used to define your organisation’s IT Strategy.
Inputs:
- Organisational Business Priorities
- Organisational Key Behaviours
- How Business will be Supported by IT
- Technology Influences
- IT Strategic Principles
- IT Service Management Operating Principles
First of all, in order to define an IT Strategy, we need to obtain the above inputs (as much as possible). The approach to define the strategy is based on what are the business priorities and how the IT is going to shape to support the business goals. Those IT priorities will then become the strategy with key initiatives to support and achieve both IT and business goals.
Example Step 1: Organisational Business Priorities
- Customers First
- Efficient
- People and Relationship
- Secure Service
- Outstanding Growth
Example Step 2: Organisational Key Behaviours
- Accountable
- Connected
- Innovation
- High Performance
Example Step 3: How the Business will be Supported IT
- Keep the Business Running
- Execute Business Change
- Leadership
- Adaptability
Example Step 4: Technology Influences
- Technology Trends
- Current Industry
- Agile
- Innovative Solutions
- Adaptable Changes
Example Step 5: IT Strategic Principles
- Put Business at First
- Efficiency
- People and Relationships
Example Step 6: IT Service Management Operating Principles
- Provide Effective Service
- Driven by Agility
- Create Efficiency
- Enforce Resilience
- Value People
Outcome 1:
Example: IT Strategy
Strengthen service and customer focus via:
- Improving our customer satisfaction
- Creating a service delivery culture
Promote agility and flexibility through the services we offer by:
- Investing in our BYO consumerisation
- Increasing our utilisation of virtualisation technology
- Investigating emerging technologies to support flexible workforce
Innovate efficiency and strengthen our partnership by:
- Reducing lifecycle cost through Cloud program and other cost saving initiatives
- Optimise operations and strategically invest in improvements
Improve service quality, reliability, and maintainability by:
- Focusing on the stability & robustness of our systems
- Improving the quality of our processes by driving quality upstream
Invest in people to grow and support by:
- Creating a collaborative, proactive, outside-in culture
Outcome 2:
The above strategy should have key initiatives that supports the strategy (supports both IT and business goals) and implementation/transformation roadmap.
Summary
Hope this is useful. This is one of the approaches that can be used to define your IT Strategy and key initiatives.