The core elements of an IT strategy

𝗝𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗨đ—ģ𝘁𝗲đ—ŋđ—ģ𝗲đ—ĩđ—ē𝗲đ—ģ đ—ļ𝘀𝘁 𝗮đ—ģ𝗱𝗲đ—ŋ𝘀! A suitable IT strategy must therefore be developed for each company.

In my view, the following four points are the absolute core elements here:

– đ—”đ—¯đ—´đ—šđ—˛đ—ļ𝗰đ—ĩ đ—ēđ—ļ𝘁 𝗱𝗲đ—ģ 𝗨đ—ģ𝘁𝗲đ—ŋđ—ģ𝗲đ—ĩđ—ē𝗲đ—ģ𝘀𝘇đ—ļ𝗲𝗹𝗲đ—ģ / 𝗚𝗲𝘀𝗰đ—ĩđ—ŽĖˆđ—ŗđ˜đ˜€đ˜‡đ—ļ𝗲𝗹𝗲đ—ģ: an IT strategy is not an end in itself. It must support and sustain the business activities, the vision and the direction of the entire company. There should therefore be a close and permanent alignment between IT and corporate management

– 𝗧𝗲𝗰đ—ĩđ—ģđ—ŧ𝗹đ—ŧ𝗴đ—ļ𝘀𝗰đ—ĩ𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘀đ—ŋđ—ļ𝗰đ—ĩ𝘁𝘂đ—ģ𝗴: the definition of platforms, architectures, standards and leading systems in relation to data and processes is a core task of the IT architect / CIO. Non-functional requirements play an important role here: are you focusing on sustainability? Expandability? Maintainability? Reusability? What about the costs? Cloud? On-premise? Customized development? Standard systems?

– 𝗚đ—ŧ𝘃𝗲đ—ŋđ—ģ𝗮đ—ģ𝗰𝗲 𝘂đ—ģ𝗱𝗱 𝗠𝗮đ—ģ𝗮𝗴𝗲đ—ē𝗲đ—ģ𝘁: every company needs guidelines, procedures and structures to effectively manage and monitor IT. Take particular account of potential risks, compliance issues and the legal framework and create clear responsibilities.

– đ—Ĩ𝗲𝘀𝘀đ—ŧ𝘂đ—ŋ𝗰𝗲đ—ģ 𝘂đ—ģ𝗱 𝗞đ—ģđ—ŧ𝘄-𝗛đ—ŧ𝘄: IT costs money and time. And IT requires knowledge. The company’s employees need to be “picked up” and informed, so you need a good communication and information culture. The following applies in particular to IT employees: building up, passing on and preserving know-how.

Of course, all of this has to be considered from a time and cost perspective. And in addition to the elements mentioned, there are potentially any number of other aspects that need to be taken into account.

𝗚𝗲đ—ģ𝗮𝘂 đ—ąđ—Žđ—ŗđ˜‚Ėˆđ—ŋ 𝗴đ—ļđ—¯đ˜ 𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗜đ—ĸ’𝘀 𝘂đ—ģ𝗱 𝗜𝗧-đ—Ļ𝘁đ—ŋ𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴đ—ļ𝗲đ—ģ!
What other elements would you mention here?