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The IT Governance Evangelist
When I say, “IT and Business Alignment” do you say, “IT Governance”?
A recent CIO Magazine CIO2CIO Program Study reported the detailed findings of a Business Service Management survey conducted by IDG Research Services. It provided insight into the advent and role of service management in IT organizations worldwide, but there were two items that I found particularly interesting.
The first was regarding the "Importance of IT Priorities in the next 12 months." "Aligning IT with Business Priorities" got top ranking. It received an importance rating of 4 or 5 (out of 5) in 75% of the 300 worldwide surveys and a whopping 87% in the 100 U.S. surveys. I loved seeing this because aligning IT with the Business is the first and foremost principle of IT Governance, and I am, after all, an IT Governance Evangelist.
The second item I found interesting--in an eyebrow raising sort of way--was the professed familiarity with the term "IT Governance." 38% of the global respondents claimed to be "very familiar". The figure was 62% in the U.S.
So there are more people who consider aligning IT with the business a top priority than there are people who are "very familiar" with ITG. That means we're in for some very disappointed businesses--or some very overworked ITG practitioners. You can't have IT alignment with the business without ITG. It's just not possible. I say "IT and business alignment," you say "IT Governance."
Of additional concern to me is that the "familiarity with ITG" figures are probably overstated. In my experience speaking with groups as large as three hundred and as small as three, I have yet to see a consensus within a group as to what IT Governance really is. This holds true even if the people are from the same company, which is why I am frequently asked to present to individual enterprises for the express purpose of "getting everyone on the same page." I suspect that the 38% global and 62% U.S. figures for those who self-assessed as "very familiar" with ITG would have to be severely reduced if meant to reflect those who are really "very familiar."
Clearly, my work is cut out for me. I'm challenged to turn the "somewhat familiars" into "very familiars" and to make sure that the "very familiars" are really "very familiar." This familiarity will result in the application of ITG to achieve the high priority business alignment.
Readers, are you "somewhat familiar," "very familiar" or really "very familiar"? What makes you think so?
About Steve Romero
Steve Romero is the IT Governance Evangelist at CA, Inc. In this capacity, Romero acts as a strong advocate for the customer, speaking around the world to users, prospective customers, industry organizations and IT luminaries to identify and communicate IT governance best practices. His mission is to help IT organizations improve the effectiveness of their initiatives and their engagement with internal customers. Romero’s areas of focus include developing ITG processes, improving ITG maturity, optimizing IT portfolio decisions, aligning IT with the corporate strategy and maximizing IT’s return on investment. Romero is an innovative, passionate IT professional with over 30 years experience working in almost every area of IT. For the past 10 years his career has focused on helping large enterprises run their IT departments like a business. Steve is a recognized expert in IT Governance, IT program and project management and business process management. He is a Certified Project Management Professional, a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, ITIL Foundation Certified, a Certified Process Master, and a Certified Computer Professional. Romero’s extensive technical and IT leadership background started in the US Navy before joining Pacific Bell where he founded numerous ground-breaking governance processes. He then joined Pacific Technology Consulting to create, launch and lead their IT project management consulting practice. Romero worked at Charles Schwab and the California State Automobile Association as an IT Director where he resumed leading the establishment of formal process management and IT Governance processes. Romero is a member of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) and the Project Management Institute (PMI). He is a San Francisco Chapter committee member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and the President of the Information Technology Service Management Forum (itSMF) San Francisco Local Interest Group. He is a Board Member for the Center for Electronic Business at San Francisco State University and is a regular guest speaker in their Masters Program. Romero attended the University of LaVerne, graduation cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management.
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