I just finished studying an analyst report entitled "The State of IT Governance In North American and European Enterprises." You already know that almost anything about IT Governance excites me, with an analyst report about my favorite topic high on the list. But, while there was certainly a lot of compelling data in the report, I was left wanting more.
The study focused on 8 areas: Strategic Positioning, The Perception of IT In The Enterprise, Standardization, How IT Is Structured, IT Planning, Architecture and The Role Of R&D In IT, Managing Vendors, and Managing Projects.
While these areas do fall within IT Governance, what I was looking for was information on enterprise efforts to establish IT Governance, or enterprise progress in regards to IT Governance initiatives. I was interested in the 8 areas, but more interested in how they were managed as part of a larger IT Governance initiative. Were the enterprises surveyed even aware that these were the major areas of IT Governance?
I continue to believe very few organizations adequately understand the nature and discipline of IT Governance. Until enterprises recognize the areas of the Forrester report as subsets of IT Governance, they have little chance of fully achieving the very specific goals, and realizing the very specific benefits, of IT Governance.
But I am hopeful that the day will come. And I am anxiously awaiting the next IT Governance analyst report in my inbox.