Conversations from the Mirror42 Team

JP Morgan Chase Retakes Control of IT — trend or incident?

“The decision to cancel the outsourcing deal wasn’t driven entirely by cost savings,” Adams said in a telephone interview last month. “It was about our belief that we wanted to be more involved in every aspect of our business, and technology is a significant part.“

A report on Business and IT Alignment by FreeForm Dynamics with the following key findings:

• The majority of IT Departments acknowledge perceived shortcomings
• Business managers say IT should become both more efficient and effective
• IT employs a range of methods for coordinating with the business
• Delivery of value is enhanced by a broader engagement model
• The best performance is achieved through a partnership approach

Full report available on request

“When budgets were tight, moving the CIO to a CFO reporting relationship must have seemed like a good idea because it made sure that reducing cost was the number one priority. It’s no wonder, however, that this reduced business alignment. CFOs, as a rule, aren’t particularly strategic—that’s not their job.“

Interesting observation.

According to a recent survey by the IT Governance Institute (ITGI), nearly 50 percent of organizations do not have a formalized governance structure to align business and IT.

ITGI offers the following tips for aligning IT and the business in its recent publication, IT Alignment: Who Is in Charge?:

• Make sure that board members and other senior managers are educated about the risks associated with IT and how business value arises from IT. This education requires involvement in the planning of the business and its use of IT.
  
• Ensure that IT managers and leaders are given resources–especially time–to fully understand the business and how IT is engaged with the business at all levels.
  
• Make IT a board priority by regularly placing it on the board’s agenda–not just once a year during the budget process.
  
• Make the IT planning process part of the enterprise strategic planning process.
  Give the CIO a place on the board as a full or ex officio member participating in all key business discussions and decision making. At minimum, the CIO should report directly to a board member who has an understanding of IT.
  
• Implement a system of board reporting on IT issues based on a regular IT dashboard or balanced scorecard.
  
• Establish an IT-related committee with at least one board member. The committee representation should be consistent with the organizational structure of the overall business. Actively manage the IT portfolio based on regular, reliable reporting.
  
• Involve IT management in all potential merger and acquisition activities.

Read more, in this article.