It used to be that IT people sat hidden
in the most remote hollows of your
offices. Places where neither light nor co-workers dared venture. Now IT’s in
the spotlight and taking center stage in
the quest to realize true competitive
advantage. That’s according to a national survey of corporate executives
released this month. The study was conducted by Smart Business Network,
Ohio State University, InfoCision and
Mirifex — the nation’s fastest-growing
privately-held business and technology
consulting firm.
Smart Business asked Nick Scafaria,
senior vice president of client services at
Mirifex, to explain some of the trending
that the study revealed.
A majority of corporate executives now say
competitive advantage is more important
than cost when it comes to IT. What does
that mean?
It used to be that businesses viewed
information technology as simply a support function — something they had to
do to keep their business running. Now
it’s becoming clear that IT is a chief driver of new competitive advantages in
business. Most executives are beginning
to see that.
When you think about that, it makes
sense. Businesses have spent decades
perfecting their quality, processes and
service. Using traditional lean methodologies, they’ve milked about as much
cost and waste out of their businesses as
possible. Now what? New technologies
present boundless opportunities to
spawn even greater perfection in existing operations, and they provide new
means to create added value. By shortening time to market, for example. Or
streamlining customer service.
In the nationwide study we conducted,
more than 90 percent of business leaders
agreed that technology’s role in their
business’s success will continue to grow.
And most felt comfortable with an
increasing spend in technology relative
to their business growth.
What they appear to lack are effective
IT strategies that drive innovation. In
other words, they understand ‘what,’ but
they’re just not sure ‘how.’
Is there a right way or a wrong way to
develop and execute your IT strategy in
business today?
Some might argue that it’s a matter of
individual preference. I disagree.
When we asked more than 100 C-level
executives to rate their IT efforts, two
out of three said they were outpacing the
competition. And by the same margin,
executives said they were satisfied with
their overall performance in IT. Based on
these responses, you might assume that
senior-level executives are already defining IT as a ‘strategic function.’ But, by
and large, their actions don’t back this
up. About half say that IT leadership
never, seldom, or only sometimes contributes to strategic planning and business innovation. And two out of three
say their lead IT person is a ‘technologist’ rather than a ‘business manager.’
If a business is to exact new and
greater advances in business by leveraging technology, it must involve IT at the
highest levels. And demand that its IT
department develop strategies that
either directly advance — or even drive
— overall business strategies. All the
time. It’s that important.
How can a company best elevate the role of IT?
Let’s say you have a small IT
Department. They’re smart about technology, but not thinking about IT as
being aligned with — or driving — your
business growth strategies. It’s difficult
to raise expectations from your current
people. And replacing them isn’t an
option, either.
In this instance, your best move would
be to bring in outside counsel — people
whose expertise is driving business
through IT — to guide your IT
Department as well as your business. It’s
outsourcing. But outsourcing taken to
the level of strategic IT functions rather
than day-to-day operations. With the
advancement of IT’s role in business
today, progressive firms are doing this.
In our study, about a third of the companies said they now outsource. Yet of
those, the majority are outsourcing high-level tasks.
So, typically, when a company makes
the decision to outsource, it means they
get it — they understand the advancing
role of IT. These are the companies that
are truly realizing the benefits of IT as a
driver of competitive advantage.
NICK SCAFARIA is senior vice president of client services for
Mirifex, the nation’s fastest-growing privately held business and
technology consulting firm. Reach him at (440) 891-1210, ext.
307, or [email protected].
