Are You Struggling to Communicate Business Value or Impact?

Here we explore, strategies for effectively communicating business impact and value.

Most leaders of big projects and transformation initiatives regularly get asked about business impact and value. This is especially true when new technology and innovation is involved. Although essential, having the right answer isn’t easy.

What is the No. 1 Issue for IT Leaders?

What are the top priorities for IT leaders today? Obviously, there is Ai, new regulations (e.g. DORA) and hot topics such as cybersecurity and data integrity. There are priorities relating to key initiatives – for example, digital transformation. Then, there are also the perennial issues of accessing key skills, scarcity of resources and embedding change.

All these issues are important and real. However, there is a more fundamental issue facing today’s most ambitious IT leaders. That is IT-business alignment.

• The alignment between the CTO, the CEO, CFO and other C-suite executives.
• The alignment between IT’s various projects and initiatives and business strategy and success.

The data suggests that IT Business Alignment is both a big challenge and a big opportunity, too.

What does this matter?

The word alignment can lack punch, so let’s be clear about why this matters. There are two reasons: 

The first is that it can help secure more funding. Indeed, up to 60% more funding according to Gartner research (where IT leaders can effectively communicate the business value of IT).¹

With so many projects and initiatives competing for scarce resources, leaders need all the leverage that they can get in securing organizational resources and attention. This starts right here – with aligning IT project goals with business strategy and success.

The second reason alignment matters is because too many C-suite executives are putting an E or an F on IT’s scorecard. This is evident from the typical survey headlines shown here:

As an IT leader, how does reading what CEOs (and others at the C-suite) think of IT make you feel? Are these headlines even accurate or fair? Regardless, they are a worthwhile reminder of the importance of managing C-suite stakeholders and ensuring that they co-own responsibility for success.

So, there are two fairly compelling reasons to care about IT-Business Alignment. But, how to tackle the issue? Let’s provide you with a framework to do so, next.

IT-business alignment

The term IT-business alignment can be confusing, with no single definition.  But, if leaders are not clear on what they mean by IT-Business alignment, then optimizing it is going to prove difficult.

The Issue of alignment is often oversimplified – boiled down to one or two factors while, in reality, it is complex with many moving parts. That includes:

• Alignment between IT and business needs, priorities and strategy, as well as with the c-suite and the rest of the organization
• Value – perceived value generated by investments in IT, as seen by stakeholders and shareholders too.
• Effectiveness – how effectively IT delivers key services and solutions to the organization, its stakeholders and its customers too
• Compliance – the requirement for digital operational resilience and risk management underpin the role and importance of IT.
• Success – delivering its big projects (e.g. Digital Transformation) on time and to budget.
• Impact – the impact of IT investments, projects and initiatives on business performance, efficiency and ultimately success.

Combined, these factors are a new acronym for IT-Business Alignment, AVECSI. Thus it represents a powerful framework for optimizing alignment.

IT-business alignment

Seeing the issues of AVECSI as interconnected is key, that is because tackling any of them in isolation won’t achieve much. For example, being seen as generating value or being efficient in delivering services will probably mean little in the absence of alignment with business needs and strategy, or a link to the impact on the performance or success of the business.

In optimizing IT-Business alignment – where to start? Well, AVECSI provides a structure and a focus. Moreover, perception matters as much as reality when it comes to AVECSI. Making the issue tangible and real is important.

Alignment needs to be done on a project by project basis. For example, AVECSI for the data strategy and the digital strategy may be different.

The Key to IT-business alignment

Grappling with the issues of IT’s impact and value is the defining characteristic of next-generation leaders, within IT as well as elsewhere. However, leaders cannot and should not do it alone. IT leaders who go into a room and come out with the answer to these issues, often struggle to engage or convince their C-suite peers.

The issue of IT-business alignment is an ‘all-of-business’ responsibility, and engaging key stakeholders in addressing AVECSI is key. This applies even if the conversation gets difficult. This is a key advantage of solutions like Pitstop Analytics, they gather perspectives and illuminate the issues, fast and without generating additional nose or tense conversations.

The result is that leaders can get visibility of AVECSI in 90 minutes, rather than 90 hours or 90 days using traditional workshop and consultant led approaches. It is an approach that can be applied on a project-by-project basis (e.g. Digital Transformation) as well as overall.

For a demo, or to find out more, contact us.