Business at risk from poor governance

 A lack of effective IT Governance in the majority of organisations is perpetuating the chronic failure rate of IT-enabled business projects says a Butler Group report. The IT Governance report says this is seriously impairing the achievement of business value.

The report said IT Governance initiatives were often limited to the IT department, and did not take into account the broader requirements of alignment with business objectives. As a consequence, there is a lack of coordination between the IT-led elements of projects and management of the associated business change.

Other effects of poor IT Governance include increased costs, unproductive use of human resources and IT assets, and the potential risk of breaching data security and regulatory compliance requirements.

Being a multinational business multiplies the challenges of IT management says a new report from The Concours Group available through IT-Director.com.

The report highlights several challenges for global companies resulting from crossing geographical barriers, time zones, and local variations. Additionally, companies need to address the impact of various installed technologies, local service providers, and regulatory environments.

IT governance is in itself complicated by subsidiary ownership structures, vendor relationships, language barriers, and local management practices, the report says.

Despite the obstacles, IT must provide a flexible infrastructure to support strategic innovation says Optimize Magazine. And this is best accomplished through a governance framework.

In order to deliver a "best-in-class" business/IT governance framework, the articles suggests a three tier approach.

Businesses must first obtain buy-in from business and IT stakeholders prior to adoption. Although the initial adoption of the new framework may be arduous, it suggests that the business/IT council must draw up and administer a detailed plan incorporating frameworks, templates, and timetables. Finally it says the real business impact of the governance framework kicks in when business and IT work together to change demand management and the segmentation and prioritisation processes. In this, senior management must continue to monitor developments closely and adhere to the plan.