New research from the IT Governance Institute (ITGI) helps enterprises succeed at the daunting task of aligning the IT strategy to the business strategy. Released today, Identifying and Aligning Business Goals and IT Goals: Full Research Report presents the complete results of an ITGI research project executed by the IT Alignment and Governance Research Institute (of the University of Antwerp Management School and its researchers Wim Van Grembergen, Steven De Haes and Hilde Van Brempt.
“Aligning business goals and information technology (IT) goals is an essential component of good business,” said Wim Van Grembergen, a member of ITGI's IT Governance Committee and an executive professor at the University of Antwerp Management School. “It is a complicated task, but it must be accomplished to ensure an enterprise's maximum success.”
Building on the results of a pilot study, the report provides a set of generally applicable business goals and IT goals, and shows how they are interrelated. From this, professionals can customise business and IT goals specific to their enterprise.
Study participants identified a list of 17 business goals and 18 IT goals, in addition to a list of top 10 business goals and IT goals prioritised over five different sectors - financial; manufacturing and pharmaceuticals; IT professional services, telecommunications and media; government, utilities and healthcare; and retail, distribution and transportation.
Key findings of the research include:
Financial and customer-oriented goals score high in the list of importance. Despite differing priorities from sector to sector, these goals were ranked highest on the overall list, as well as the individual lists by sector, company size and geographic location.
Sector-specific characteristics play an important role in prioritising business goals and IT goals. In general there was a relatively high degree of consensus with regard to the 10 most important business and IT goals; however, based on the differences in priorities, some sector-specific characteristics were determined.
Size and geographic location have less of an impact on prioritising business goals and IT goals. While some minor differences were identified when comparing regions of the world or varying company size, there were fewer differences than when comparing by sector.
Results are considered in Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (Cobit) development and provide a basis for practical relevance - preliminary results of the research were taken into account in the continuous Cobit development.
A summary white paper can be downloaded free of charge at www.itgi.org. The full report can be purchased from the ISACA Bookstore at www.isaca.org/bookstore.
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ITGI
The IT Governance Institute (www.itgi.org) is a non-profit, independent research entity that provides guidance for the global business community on issues related to the governance of IT assets. ITGI was established by the non-profit membership association ISACA in 1998 to help ensure that IT delivers value and its risks are mitigated through alignment with enterprise objectives, IT resources are properly managed, and IT performance is measured. ITGI developed Cobit and Val IT, and offers original research and case studies to help enterprise leaders and boards of directors fulfil their IT governance responsibilities and help IT professionals deliver value-adding services.
ISACA
With more than 86 000 constituents in more than 160 countries, ISACA (www.isaca.org) is a recognised worldwide leader in IT governance, control, security and assurance. Founded in 1969, ISACA sponsors international conferences, publishes the Information Systems Control Journal, and develops international information systems auditing and control standards. It also administers the globally respected Certified Information Systems Auditor designation, earned by more than 60 000 professionals since 1978; the Certified Information Security Manager designation, earned by more than 9 000 professionals since 2002; and the new Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT designation.