The Next Leap in Productivity: What Top Managers Really Need to Know about Information Technology

2.5. Prioritizing IT

Maybe the subtitle of this book should have been "What Top Managers Really Need to Know About Prioritizing Information Technology," because separating what needs to be done today from what can wait until tomorrow is a huge part of managing IT.

The process of prioritizing IT will depend to a large extent on how the company views the role of IT. Many companies rely on IT to enable and improve their existing business processes.

A growing number of companies, however, regard IT as a critical weapon in a never-ending struggle for market position. So the first question that top management needs to ask itself is this: Is IT enabling our business, or is IT driving our business?

A truly responsible set of top managers might go a step beyond and ask: Do we really understand the potential of IT within our environment? Where are we on the spectrum of IT users? Are we using IT to keep the trains running, or are we using IT to create new products and open new markets?

When the role of IT is enabling or streamlining processes, top management will be asking variations of three questions:

1. Is IT operating as planned?

2. Is IT saving the company money?

3. Is IT keeping us compliant?

When IT is driving the business or when IT is the business, as in the case of many financial companies, top management will be asking very different questions, such as:

1. Do we have the latest and greatest technology?

2. Are we constantly optimizing all of our IT resources?

3. Do we have the right mix of technology, ...