The IT Governance Institute (ITGI) released the first documents from its Val IT (achieving Value from IT) initiative in April 2006. This global initiative was developed to assist organisations in realising optimal value from their IT investments.
Val IT is a governance framework consisting of a set of guiding principles and a number of processes conforming to best practices in the governance of IT investments.
It addresses assumptions, cost, risks and outcomes related to a balanced portfolio of IT-enabled investments, provides a benchmarking capability and allows enterprises to exchange experiences on best practices for value management.
"Fujitsu is working closely with the ITGI on this initiative and has contributed to the development of the Val IT framework and associated management practices," says Fujitsu Services SA head of business consulting, Andre February.
"Organisations continue to make significant IT-enabled business investments to sustain, grow and transform areas of their businesses containing a critical technology component."
"The team found that such investments, when managed within an effective governance framework, provide organisations with significant opportunities to create value. Many organisations have already created value through well-chosen investments; however, without effective governance and management, these investments can also erode or destroy value."
A key lesson the framework offers is that IT investment is no longer only about implementing IT solutions. It is increasingly about implementing IT-enabled change. This implies greater complexity and risk than has historically been the case, which means the management practices traditionally applied are no longer sufficient.
February believes that, with the correct governance and management processes, IT-enabled business investments can bring huge rewards. Unfortunately, until now, management has not had a clear way to measure, report on or monitor the potential success or failure of its investments in IT.
Effective governance starts with leadership commitment and support from the top. Such leadership, while critical, is, however, not enough. Val IT supports business leadership by providing a comprehensive management framework with a full complement of supporting processes and other guidance materials. These have been developed to help the board and executive management understand and carry out their roles as they relate to IT-enabled business investments.
Val IT provides a one-stop, credible and codified source to support the creation of real business value from IT-enabled investments. It is of relevance to all management levels across both business and IT: from the CEO and the C-suite to those directly involved in the selection, procurement, development, implementation, deployment and benefits realisation processes.
Val IT extends and complements Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT), jointly promoted by ITGI and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). This provides a comprehensive control framework for IT governance. Specifically, Val IT focuses on investment decisions such as; are we doing the right things and are we realising the benefits? COBIT, in turn, focuses on the execution, namely, are we doing it the correct way and how well are we getting things done?
Fujitsu Services, with its extensive experience in enterprise value management, continues to work with the ITGI and a team of practitioners, academics and researchers to develop the Val IT framework further. The framework is now available to all ISACA and ITGI members.
The Val IT documents, covering the framework, the business case and a case study, are available from http://www.itgi.org and http://www.isaca.org.
Share
Fujitsu Services is a leading European information technology services company. Its business is helping its customers realise the value of information technology through the application of consulting, systems integration and managed service contracts. It serves customers in the private and public sectors across Europe, including retail, financial services, healthcare and government. With an annual turnover of lb2.46 billion (EUR3.59 billion), it employs over 19 000 people across 20 countries. Headquartered in London, Fujitsu Services is the European IT services arm of the US$43.2 billion (EUR32.5 billion) Fujitsu Group. Visit uk.fujitsu.com for more information.
Editorial contacts