How We Align IT with Business Goals for Long-Term Success
In my former life, I had the privilege of working with a financial service company where the founder shared a profound business desire – to no longer have IT be the source of emergencies for the business. That simple, yet powerful statement left a lasting impact on me and sparked a pivotal direction for our IT organization.
Our mission became clear:
- Stabilize our IT landscape by replacing ad hoc practices with streamlined, repeatable processes.
- Understand the criticality of monitoring customer interactions with the business and proactively look for anomalies that demanded attention, even when the anomaly was the absence of activity.
- Address technology debt, which included upgrading outdated hardware, enhancing security measures, and bolstering disaster recoverability without interrupting business operations.
This was a tall order, but we were determined to align IT services with the business goals of our organization. It meant collaborating across departments, breaking silos, and leading multi-functional teams through change. So as challenges arose, we embraced them as opportunities to grow, gaining invaluable experience and competency in IT operations. With a sound plan in hand, the founder gave us the support we needed which included permission to fail along the way. What we were doing did not come without risks. We had setbacks and received business support on them. But in the end we succeeded overwhelmingly and accomplished what was necessary in support of the business.
Looking back, I am grateful for the transformative experience and the positive impact it had on the company. The path we took reinforced my belief in managing and aligning IT services with a strategic focus on business goals. Today, I’m interested in hearing your stories. So how have you successfully linked technology to your organization’s goals? Let’s inspire each other and continue pushing the boundaries of what technology and business can achieve together. Share your thoughts in the comments!