Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Summary
Strategy is about making choices and ensuring focus. Whenever scarce
resources must be allocated, certain choices must be made. The kinds of
strategic choices that must be made in IT are often related to enterprise
technology choices, outsourcing, build-versus-buy decisions, and senior
staffing. Due to various factors, the choices available may actually be quite
limited. IT managers should be aware of the company's strategies because
IT investment and corresponding projects are driven off such strategies.
While developing strategies, it is essential to understand the “true” system:
the system that lies behind the automation being envisaged — for example,
the accounting system that lies at the core of the accounting package.
Because everything important is not strategic, the strategic requirements
must be recognized by a few salient characteristics, such as their ability
to support mission objectives and their potential to have long-term impact.
Having selected the right strategy, execution of the strategy then
becomes important. Key to success is a proper understanding of the
requirements against which one is working. These requirements begin at
a high level but can quickly get detailed.
