It has to do with the development of specific actions that allow the application of Information Technologies to achieve the objectives of companies. This is possible because automation and digitalization benefit all organizational activities.
Companies are always looking for competitive advantages, often through actions related to price, product, service or production. However, information technology, or IT, seeks and identifies new options that serve to generate significant differences, facing competition and increasing profits.
This is how IT strategies are used as a critical factor to achieve success in companies. This ensures a continuous adaptation of technology to the business strategy and the organization's model. Of course, this creates a new, more robust competitive advantage.
What is IT strategic planning?
As explained by the professor of systems and computer science, Luis Joyanes Aguilar , in the book Information Systems in the company (2015), strategic IT planning “determines how to best develop and apply Information Technologies, in consistency with the strategy and objectives of the organization, promoting its integration with other resources to generate sustainable competitive advantages”. It is a complex and critical element, which requires that business units and technology plans be coordinated .
Joyanes adds that when an adequate IT strategic plan is carried out, it is clearly explained how the technology will support the various corporate and business activities . To do this, a cost-benefit analysis and a risk analysis are required to determine the feasibility of being able to implement the plan. Likewise, in order to propose any project from the technological area, the other departments of the company must have developed their own plans, since they are the starting point.
As for the responsibility for this activity, it falls directly on the information technology director (CIO, for its acronym in Chief Information Officer ), who works directly with the senior management of the organization. The CIO has a vital influence on companies, this is because his actions have a transversal presence in all functional areas of the business.
Keep reading and discover the steps to carry out digital transformation in a company .
Elements of the IT model of companies
In order to develop and fulfill the IT strategic planning, it is necessary to have a clear technological model to transform business strategies into IT strategies. It is related to the IT guidelines that must be met, depending on the design and implementation efforts. In this sense, the following components must be considered:
IT Architecture. Determines the basis of the necessary technology applications, in order to define the global vision of IT resources. To do this, their scope and the assurance of all information systems are specified.
Technology infrastructure architecture. Provides all the basic features of IT architecture. Equipment and communications are considered so that systems can operate efficiently.
Operating model. Establishes the activities of the IT area, focusing on the analysis and optimization of the functioning of the systems. It seeks to identify opportunities that allow for the improvement of technological processes.
IT organizational structure. It deals with the management cpa email database of human resources to create the structure of IT talent's job positions. This supports the department's function and work.
Benefits of IT Strategic Planning
One of the greatest benefits offered by strategic planning of information technologies has to do with the possibility of obtaining, storing, processing and analyzing data, in addition to facilitating and automating daily activities, which allows you to compete effectively in the market. This is possible thanks to the integration of collaborative tools with analytics, which respond to business intelligence to make decisions and obtain the following advantages:
Ensures that all business tasks and activities are completed.
Maximize sales and service coverage in the market.
Answer all relevant queries.
Analyze the competitive environment outside the company to identify and address threats and opportunities.
Defines a logical starting point for establishing the methodology for applying the technology.
Select the best features of the resources.
It involves the identification of potential technological developments.
Directs the techniques and administrative projection of the IT unit, through the analysis of strengths and weaknesses.
Formalizes an organizational architecture.
Establishes the IT architecture in organizations, considering the business model for the application of the systems.
Designs a technological infrastructure architecture to guarantee the hardware and programs that enable voice, data and network management.
Are you interested in knowing: How do Information Technologies impact companies?
The strategic process of information technology is very important because it generates value for the company and for the end customer. It is a process that must be central to any business. For this reason, organizations, on a large scale, see IT processes as an essential aspect of business strategy and that helps achieve objectives.