December 2007 FAQ:

Question: : I am hearing a lot about Business IT Alignment. What is it and how do I get it from my company?

Answer: Business and IT can be said to be aligned if two conditions are regularly met:

1. IT can consistently be employed to strengthen or raise the performance of the business…and
2. IT systems can be put to work in the business without employee “angst.”

Making money for the business without employees having to work and fret for 80 hours a week should be the primary driver behind IT assets.

For many companies to be better aligned, however, aggressive actions will need to be taken to (1) ensure the IT function is structurally aligned with the business, (2) ensure that the company as a whole is supportive in investments in IT assets, and (3) develop and implement methods and tools that allow systems implementations to be both technical and business successes.