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Business/IT Fusion
First edition cover
AuthorPeter Hinssen
SpracheEnglisch
Publisher.MachMedia
Publication date
2009
Publication placeBelgien
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages276 pp
ISBNISBN 9789081324236 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character

Business/IT Fusion - How to move beyond Alignment and transform IT in your organization is a business book authored by Peter Hinssen. It promotes an approach to IT management that moves beyond the classic model of business/IT alignment. Where Alignment focused on the collaboration between Business and IT, Hinssen suggests that the future evolution in IT lies in the convergence of the two parties: integrating IT into the business rather than treating it as a supplier. The work is presented as a guidebook to "IT 2.0".[1]

Concept

There is a dilemma in the world of IT: the technical challenges and opportunities have never been greater,[2] but at the same time the role of IT and of the CIO have never been questioned more.[3] In spite of the different models developed over the years designed to improve the trust between business and IT, the situation is worse than ever before. This calls for radical change. A complete repositioning of IT is required, along with the need for a new breed of IT professionals to tackle the challenges.

Hinssen's book Business/IT Fusion describes how fusion can help CIOs and IT Managers through tough economic times by transforming IT into an asset. Fusion is a recipe for business integration and technology-enabled innovation. On the one hand it turns CIOs into business leaders and on the other it injects business savvy in the IT department, which in turn improves the image of IT.

Questions tackled in the book

The gives answers to the following questions and topics:

  • What is business/IT Fusion and what is the difference with business/IT alignment?
  • How will the new fusion of business and IT function, particularly in its relationship with the business customers and with its suppliers?
  • What will the new IT organization look like from a fusion perspective?
  • What are the tools and mechanisms to make fusion work?
  • What about "intelligent governance" and the move from budget thinking to portfolio thinking?
  • How can the concept of architecture be used and turned into a business instrument?
  • How can IT organizations be staffed? What types of skills are needed and how will they be attracted?
  • How can the image of IT be rebuilt, and technology innovation be marketed into the business?
  • What will the new breed of CIO look like, who can transform IT into a fusion concept?
  • How can a "new deal" between Business and IT be built and maintained?

Synopsis of the book

The past, present and future of IT

Why it's time for a new deal between business and IT. EDP has been around for 20 years. IT has been around for twenty years. It's time for a change, writes the author.

The elements of fusion

The old "island of IT" is a concept that is dead in the water. The concern should not just be with "business/IT alignment", but with the integration of IT into the business.

  • Why is Alignment a dead-end street?
  • What does the concept of fusion mean for IT?
  • What are the elements of fusion, and how to apply them?

Models that work

Over the course of the last fifteen years of study and research into the field of Alignment, a number of models that look at the business/IT alignment domain have proven to be interesting. These models can be used in the transition towards a state of fusion, and can form a source of inspiration to look at the dialogue between business and IT.

  • The models of Alignment.[4][5][6]
  • The models of fusion.

People: the new IT crowd

What type of people is needed in a fusion process? For a very long time, extremely technical specialists have been hired into IT departments. In a fusion concept, a new breed of professionals is needed, with a new blend of capabilities. When you transform your IT department, the most important priority should be on people and culture. They are the foundation of the new IT.

  • What does the "people" element in a fusion process entail?
  • Which blend of people need to be attracted, hired, trained or developed, and how can that be done?[7]
  • How can the "culture" code in an IT transformation be cracked?[8]

The new CIO: from Robin to Batman

In the transformation of IT, perhaps the fusion of IT and business, no factor is as crucial as the profile of the CIO. What does the new CIO look like, and what role can they play?

The marketing of IT

Building up the communication skills, and developing a marketing mindset within IT is just part of an overall approach to strive towards IT Alignment, and a totally new relationship between business and IT. Building a communication will be essential in our drive to radiate IT leadership.

  • What is the rationale for communication in IT, and what are the mechanisms for communicating with the business on IT-related matters?
  • How should a communication and marketing strategy for the information technology function be built?
  • How should the communication potential and marketing savvyness of the IT staff be raised?

Intelligent governance: beyond IT governance

Most IT departments have set up IT governance purely with a ‘monitor and control’ mentality, burdening the IT department with extremely heavy compliancy, rules and procedures, and with the result that the business customer of IT now is confronted with a bureaucratic IT apparatus that kills all creativity, flexibility and innovation.[9] Going from IT governance to the concept of "intelligent governance", and turning the static budgeting process into a dynamic portfolio mechanism, can truly revive the governance domain from a sluggish bottleneck into an accelerator of change and a catalyst for the fusion process between business and IT.

  • Demonstrate that IT governance can also be an intelligent mechanism to create more value with IT.
  • Explore the difference between "budget thinking" and "portfolio thinking".[10]
  • Show how to use the concept of Intelligent Governance as a mechanism for fusion between business and IT.

Architects of Change: using scenario planning in IT

Architecture will be a key component in rethinking IT. Architecture should provide the tools and the mechanisms to not just think about today, but about the future of using technology in companies. Enterprise architecture should become a weapon of change: instead of a static interpretation of the current, it should become an instrument for dealing with the constant flux.

  • Explore the notion of enterprise architecture,[11][12] and what it means in a business/IT fusion context.
  • Elaborate on the concept of scenario planning as a mechanism to look at the dynamic aspects of Architecture.
  • Investigate the role and the profile of the architect.

The fusion roadmap: a guide to a new IT

  • A roadmap for IT going forward.[13]
  • Conducting an assessment of where you are.
  • Mapping out the work to reshape the IT department.
  • Where will the fusion of business and IT lead industry, and where could it lead the Managers?

See also

References

  1. ^ Peter Hinssen, Business/IT Fusion, .MachMedia (2009), p. 15-17.
  2. ^ Carlota Perez, Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages, 2002, ISBN 978-1843763314
  3. ^ Nicholas G. Carr, IT Doesn’t Matter, Harvard Business Review, May 2003
  4. ^ John C.Henderson & N. Venkatraman, Strategic Alignment: Leveraging Information Technology for Transforming Organizations, IBM Systems Journal vol.32, n° 1, 1993
  5. ^ F. Warren McFarlan, James L McKenney and Philip J. Pyburn, The Information Archipelago - Plotting a course, Harvard Business Review, Jan.-Feb. 1983
  6. ^ R. Nolan & F. W. McFarlan, Information Technology and the Board of Directors, Harvard Business Review, Oct.2005
  7. ^ Robert Goffee, Leading Clever People, Harvard Business Review, March 2007
  8. ^ Robert Goffee & Gareth Jones, Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?, Harvard Business School Press (2006). ISBN 1578519713
  9. ^ P. Frederick, The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition, 1995
  10. ^ David Craig & Ranjit Tinaikar, Divide and conquer: Rethinking IT strategy, The McKinsey Quarterly, August 2006 http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com
  11. ^ Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, David C. Robertson, Enterprise Architecture As Strategy, Harvard Business School Press (2006)
  12. ^ Jaap Schekkerman (IFEAD), The Economic Benefits of Enterprise Architecture, Trafford Publishing (2005)
  13. ^ John P. Kotter, Leading Change, Harvard Business School Press (1996)

Other sources of the book

  • de Bono Edward, ‘Lateral thinking for Management: A Handbook by Edward de Bono’, Penguin Books, 1990
  • Laartz Jürgen, Sonderegger Ernst and Vinckier Johan, ‘The Paris guide to IT architecture’, The McKinsey Quarterly,August 2000
  • Mark David and Rau Diogo P., ‘Splitting Demand from Supply in IT’, The McKinsey Quarterly, September 2006
  • Monnoyer Eric and Willmott Paul, ‘What IT leaders do’, The McKinsey Quarterly, August 2005
  • Peterson R., ‘Information strategies and tactics for Information Technology governance’, 2004
  • Ross J., Weill P. and Robertson D., ‘Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution’, Harvard Business School Press, June 2006
  • Sewell Marc & Sewell Laura, ‘The Software Architect’s Profession: An Introduction (Software Architecture Series)’,Prentice Hall, 2001
  • Smith Douglas K. and Alexander Robert C., ‘Fumbling the Future: How Xerox Invented, Then Ignored, the First Personal Computer’, Paperback, April 1999
  • Van Grembergen W., Strategies for Information technology Governance, IDEA Group Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-59140-284-0
  • von Oech Roger, ‘A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative’, Paperback, 1983
  • Weill Peter & Ross Jeanne W., ‘IT Governance: How Top Performers Manage IT Decision Rights for Superior Results’,Harvard Business School Press, 2004
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