But now the time has come for IT professionals to shake off the stigma of the "IT says no" reputation, start proactively engaging with their business, and communicating the ways in which IT strategies empower each and every department.
The role of IT has changed
In the increasingly digitized workplace, the success of every organisation, department, function and employee depends more and more on IT, to the extent that, according to Gartner analysts, every budget is becoming an IT budget. Businesses now need more than a digital strategy, they need a business strategy for the digital age, and IT teams are increasingly being turned to for advice on how to keep the business thriving in a highly competitive digital era.
Organisations are now looking to their IT teams to help them differentiate their business from the competition, and deliver technical innovations that will help the company stand out from the crowd.
Customers are more tech-savvy than ever, and expect businesses to keep up to speed. With the rise of social media tools, customers have the power to make or break the reputation of an organisation, and in response, businesses are tightening their focus on delivering IT solutions that positively affect the customer experience, and will encourage them to recommend to a friend.
IT teams are longer being viewed as behind the scenes strategists, but are visibly being brought into the organisational front line, to create company wide impact, and become champions for delivering cultural change.
Plan for the Bigger Picture
IT strategies now need to be considered within the frame of the organisation's bigger picture, and every project in your IT budget must positively impact on the end customer (e.g. automation of processes, quick access to up to date information for sales teams, and consistent messaging across sales and marketing teams). This also means that the scalability of solutions is becoming even more important: once you've implemented a solution that works for one team, it's good to be able to extend that solution to others within the business, so that the benefits can be felt organisation-wide.
Create Invaluable Solutions
IT leaders need to create innovative strategies that align with the organisation's goals, and inspire teams and departments to actively buy into that those strategies. The best way to do this is do deliver solutions and tools that staff will find invaluable. The greater the value perceived by the end users, the greater the adoption, and the higher the return on investment.
Collaboration and Communication
The key to developing a successful strategy is to form collaborative relationships across all departments and gain an understanding of the requirements across all functions. This also helps IT to communicate their message across the organisation through appointed departmental champions. Users are generally more receptive to ideas and change when they are delivered by peers who feel the same pain they do, and so the more you can engage and lead those champions, the better for the organisation as a whole. Gartner analysts have said that we are living in the age of the engagement economy, and it is key for IT leaders to engage with their colleagues in this way.
IT and IS empower every person in every role, and users should embrace IT strategies and not fear change, but this will only be achieved by IT and non IT teams working together to create more productive and efficient working environments.
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What's your strategy for engaging and collaborating within your organisation this year?
Business Cloud Integration Ltd offer Cloud, SharePoint and Office 365 consultancy in Cambridge, delivering solutions that increase company productivity, streamline and automate business processes, and simplify and enhance collaborative working.