It has been customary for enterprises to have separate budgets for IT and other parts of their businesses. For this reason, IT has always been considered a cost center rather than a revenue generator. That is no longer the case, with more and more companies now increasingly using technology and making it possible for IT budgets to be a part of each department in the business. CIOs will have the responsibility to budget technology and IT resources for the enterprise. And this responsibility will give rise to four scenarios or targets. According to Gartner, these four futures are:
- IT as Engine Room. IT would be a cost-optimized and stable engine room that churns out commoditized apps at very low pricing. As such, IT is able to lower the cost per transaction, increase operational reliability and quality. As opposed to seeing IT as a cost center where the focus is on utilizing assets. In this future, IT would spur growth and innovation in the business while also cutting the costs of IT operations.
- IT as Global Business Service Provider. This is where the business’ internal services such as human resources and IT are taken together, and these become accountable for the delivery of services in the business. So you get a shared service organization that delivers both enterprise processes and IT services. In this scenario, IT is able to deliver competitive services with increased business value, while also coming up with a centralized and virtual organization.
- IT as Business. In this concept, information becomes the product, or at least is closely tied to the product that the business is into. The focus is less on the processes or function of information but on the flow of information.
- Everyone Is IT. In this scenario, business leaders make use of technology and information aggressively to usher in unparalleled collaboration. The focus is less on the technology but on the information, as well as encourages business leaders to share information. It also encourages more creativity, collaboration and innovation.
It is very important for CIOs to choose one of these four futures and determine if you have the necessary skills and resources to claim that future. You would need to have a team that should be in place to provide design, development and services to help you lay the groundwork of these futures.
Today’s businesses simply cannot afford to remain traditional and keep considering IT as a cost center. These are the trends that are emerging in businesses around the world when it comes to IT’s role in the organization. These four roles make more sense for tomorrow’s businesses, while also delivering a lot of benefits to the organization and it is high time to start preparing for these four futures of IT.
If you want to jumpstart your IT to be more responsive to the needs of your business, call Four Cornerstone today at 1 (817) 377 1144. We can provide you with a team of IT experts who can help you realize the future today. From determining what your business needs to getting the right software and hardware for your IT, to training your staff to make the most out of your IT investments and prepare them for the future, Four Cornerstone can help.
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