If you are not already doing so, you soon will be making adjustments to your organization’s business strategy and reevaluating your IT strategy for the coming year and beyond. In the past, this may not have seemed as important of a planning step for your company as it has now become. As a result of the pandemic, it’s much easier to see why your IT strategy plays such a crucial role in your ability to remain operational. From supporting a remote workforce to quickly rolling out security measures to protect your data, your IT strategy is the driving force behind keeping you safe. That’s why its essential to invite the right people to your IT strategy planning meeting.
The CEO Should Drive IT Strategy Planning
Too many organizations treat cybersecurity and IT strategy as functions separate from business operations – and the only one who can change that approach is the CEO. The business strategy can’t function without the IT strategy, and the IT strategy must be informed by the business strategy to be effective. The leader of every organization should not only have a security-first philosophy but also must be involved in the decision making and strategy development of the entire IT strategy.
The CFO Contributes Valuable Insight to IT Strategy Planning
Today’s CFO is a strategic leader who is central to critical decision making and planning. The modern CFO is expected to bring strategic ideas to the C-suite table. As well, the CFO must be heavily involved in developing and executing the company’s strategic agenda and is expected to effect change throughout the entire organization. This role of the future requires a new skillset for many financial professionals.
Make Room for HR at the IT Strategy Table
There has never been a more important time to have your HR manager or CHRO be a part of your IT strategy development team. With responsibilities to in-office workers and a remote workforce, and an increase in the use of contract and gig workers, you need HR on your team to determine how to best meet the varied needs of these groups without compromising your security or sacrificing your efficiency.
Your CMO/CXO Make Sure Your Customers Have a Voice
Your marketing and customer experience leaders have their fingers on the pulse of your clients. Without their input, you cannot know if you are missing some key element that ensures a peace of mind and certain conveniences to your customers that could easily be satisfied with your IT strategy.
The CIO Role – Internal or Outsourced – Is an Essential Member of Your IT Strategy Planning Team
There’s no argument against including your CIO at the IT strategy table, as their guidance is crucial, but more and more organizations either can’t afford a CIO or they may have lost their CIO to the tight market and are unable to find a suitable replacement.
With the expertise of the CIO being so critical to ensuring that your IT strategy and business goals are in alignment, thinkCSC can be your partner in strategizing for the future with our vCIO services. Working closely with your team, we’ll learn your business processes inside and out, and continuously work to find ways to improve them. Even better, we do all this at a much lower rate than hiring a dedicated in-house resource. Learn more.
