Saturday, 24 August 2013

Why An IT Strategy Is Imperative For Sustaining A Competitive Advantage

By Grace Philpotts


Nobody will blame anyone that confesses to an inability to keep up with change and new developments. This is especially true for technology. Hardly a day goes by or some new hardware or software innovation is launched. Organizations that strive to stay at the cutting edge of technology need to develop a sound IT strategy that will make sure that the organization is well placed to take advantage of new technology as quickly as possible.

Many people think that a strategic plan is simply a list of objectives that must be achieved. This is not the case. Strategic plans are more in the realm of predicting the future and setting goals that aim to use future developments to the advantage of the organization. This entails a detailed analysis of the various environments that have an influence on the organization.

Information technology departments are particularly challenged when developing strategic plans. The changes in this field can be bewildering and it is extremely difficult to keep track of new developments. Predicting future trends is even more difficult. Many developers keep their new products under wraps as long as possible in order to avoid alerting competitors. Developing strategic plans for information technology remains a very high priority, however.

There are many good reasons why organizations simply have no choice other than to keep their information technology up to date. New releases of software and new devices are often incompatible with older versions, rendering the organization unable to share data and to link up with other systems. New technology also often provides new methods of communication and even marketing and it is imperative to keep up to date simply to remain competitive.

No strategic plan for information technology can ever be completed. The fast pace of change requires constant revision of these plans and it is often necessary to adopt an entire new strategy in answer to unexpected trends and developments. Strategic plans need to be managed by visionaries that are also practical in their approach to change. Many organizations employ full time specialists for this task.

Developing strategic plans for information technology is difficult and complex enough, but planning for the implementation of such plans can be a nightmare. Upgrading can cause chaos and it requires a great degree of skill to plan for the installation of new hardware and software while, at the same time, ensuring that productivity is maintained. Users need to be trained on the new technology and steps must be taken to ensure data integrity.

Appointing a person to manage the information technology strategic plan is an important matter that should be done with great circumspect. The manager of this plan needs to be trained in strategic thinking as well as in the field of information technology, including outsourcing some work to a managed services company. It needs to be somebody that has a keen interest in new developments and it must certainly be somebody with a solid background in research.

Without an IT strategy no organization can hope to remain competitive. It is vital to stay abreast of developments and to use new technology efficiently. Consumers are skeptic about businesses that seems to be out of touch with the modern world. New devices and software often allow organization ways in which to reach new markets and to improve their service levels.




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