Thursday, 3 October 2013

Some Of The Benefits Of A Flexible IT Strategy

By Sasha Halloway


In this age and era of technology, organizations embrace the role of IT in the management of their operations. However, in order for IT professionals to correctly provide the required support, they need to have an IT strategy. In the next section, we look at how this critical strategy/plan should be made so that it works to serve its purpose.

For those who do not know already, this plan is the comprehensive plan that the professionals in the IT field would use to guide the organization to meet its goals and objectives. It should be comprehensive as defined to cover every facet of technology management in the organization. Technology drives almost everything within the organization, so the strategy should bear that in mind.

Experts in the IT field are the best suited people to implement the plan. They need to stay on top of it, for it to succeed. They collaborate with other members of the organization who are involved in planning to put together this important plan. They involve all departments including business, legal, budget departments and user groups.

The plan is best formalized or written. It should include aspects of cost management, risk management, supplier management, management of hardware and software as well as management of human capital. It is easier to follow a formally written strategy than an informal one and this is why there is emphasis that the document should at least be put down in writing if it is to be executed successfully.

The best plan is flexible in nature. This will help especially since organizations are subjected to changes based on situations. With a flexible plan, it is easy to adjust and fit into current situation. A plan may be good but there may be no capacity to finance it. Then, there would be need to adjust it so that it fits within the capability of the organization. Plus, technology is constantly changing so you would want to have a flexible plan that can allow for new technology when it becomes available.

The experts will advise that the extensive plan be tailored to meet the skills that are available in the company. Again, here the plan would really work if it is not as rigid because skills within an organization are also bound to change. So it is very important that this is factored while drawing the extensive plan.

Time also brings better understanding to user needs and business objectives. As such, a plan like this may need to be adjusted to match this new understanding. This can only be where the strategy is flexible to allow changes. The idea is that business priorities should always be the prime concern when setting up the plan.

There are bound to be many benefits if the IT strategy is formulated well and executed properly. For instance, processes will be automated. In turn, the company efficiency will improve with automation. At the same time employees would be able to work more in that the reports would run fast, queries would be created comfortably, projects would be easily tracked and financials can be accurately monitored. To share in such benefits, you should endeavor to employ professionals in the IT field to help you set up your strategy and roll it out for you.




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