Abstract

According to an article in the CIO Magazine (March, 1999), three out of four IT initiatives fail. The author of the article, D. Young, cited the reason for this is that the initiatives "were basically developed in a value vacuum."  To create a singular information value, an information strategy planning exercise should be employed.

Two reasons, of many, for not embarking on an information strategy planning exercise are:

-         There is no corporate strategy plan

-         Fear of the complexity of the execution of the plan

If the reason is the first then such a company, regardless of size and market, is directionless and could therefore be headed towards a possible failure.

If the reason is the second then the information management department is headed down the road of ever-increasing technology costs without delivery of the information consumers' needs.

Young (CIO Magazine, 1999) states that to deliver value, IT needs to align itself with the

 business units—the users of the technology.

This paper strives to address why (and if) it is necessary to align the information strategy to the business strategy.

 This article was written by Craig Smith in September 1999.

Keywords

Strategy, Information Management, Strategic Alignment, Systems Thinking