It has become a truism that IT strategy must be closely aligned with that of a business. But defining an IT strategy can be tricky. What are the core components of a successful IT strategy? What roles should technology play in defining an IT strategy? And what role does the CIO play in embedding IT into the business?

Our panelists give their views:

The quality of IT strategies varies considerably. I would look for several things in a good one.

First and foremost, it will explicitly integrate with business strategy. That sounds obvious, but we do see strategies that try to address technology in relative isolation.

Second, it must spend some time considering the long-term renewal (10 years) ­ not just short-term delivery (three years) ­ because we all know our major business applications hang around for decades, in practice.

Third, it must include an outlook on sourcing and supply ­ the multi-sourcing view.
Finally, it should address capability and competency development, not just technology. Here we mean newer areas such as information management, usability and design, business process management and relationship management. Issues of staff development, financing models and technical architecture policy should also appear.

The best elements of strong IT strategies survive handovers between CIOs. Weak strategy documents go straight in the bin when a new guy arrives.

Mark Raskino, research vice president and Gartner fellow

A great IT strategy is built on the ability of the technology that supports a business now, and in the future. It is a rare business where the IT itself is the business, but today almost every business would fail without the IT that supports its operation.

Therefore, the most successful IT strategy is one that builds a supportive framework, allowing services to be delivered today and changed or expanded as the future dictates.

It is a utopia that is hard to achieve, because budgets are rarely unlimited, but within funding constraints, this should be the strategic objective for any IT leader.

Mark Kobayshi-Hillary, director, National Outsourcing Association

What makes a good IT strategy? Well, it almost goes without saying that it absolutely has to align with the strategy for the organisation as a whole. So, in essence, it is an enabling ­ note that I did not say supporting ­ strategy.

The real challenge to defining a successful strategy is the link with technology and the speed with which it develops. Technology can be a supportive tool to enable the business to achieve a defined objective. It can also be used to stimulate the business operations into thinking about doing things differently and, indeed, doing different things.

A successful strategy should recognise these roles and provide both support and stimulus to the business.

As a strategy covers a forward look over several years (there are debates about the actual number) it cannot be too prescriptive about the technology itself.

The strategy should be robust to the undefined and be adaptable to emerging technologies as much as it should be able to withstand variations in the business direction, which may be caused by changing economic climate or competition, for example.

Denise Plumpton, director of information, Highway Agency

The IT strategy is the top level of the information system’s plan for the next couple of years. It is these things that are needed by the business to follow its plan ­ if you are lucky, there is a plan.

If the plan is “grow by 50 per cent a year”, the strategy will be different to that for “steady profitable growth”. If it is “survive”, or “grow market share by acquisition”, that will be different again.

In the current economic turmoil, it may be necessary to flip from one to the other at short notice. To become reality, strategy must be formatted into executable projects, so that normal project initiation disciplines apply. For example, why are we doing this, how do we get buy-in from the people involved, what benefit do
we expect, what is the cost, what is the technical architecture, the timeline and also what are the implications for staff?

Sandra Smith, head of IS at Toshiba UK

n The multiplicity of expectations gives CIOs a hard time; they must provide differentiated directions for embedding IT in the business areas it supports, and fit the management of technology with the management of the business.

As a strategist, the CIO must understand the information and technology drivers that shape the firm’s competitive space and profitability and provide a
framework for anticipating how IT changes the business over time. They must address the IT innovation drivers in view of the competitive forces that shape the industry and the business.

The CIO also has to produce a strategic plan for structuring, synchronising and managing the firm’s present and future IT capabilities. The plan must balance between long- and short-term performance objectives, using clearly articulated goals and measurable results.

Alexander Peters, principal analyst, Forrester Research

Every IT strategy is unique because it is tied to that individual business’ objectives and plans. Rather than focus on definitions or essential components, our members concentrate on understanding the requirements that a good strategy should fulfill.

For example, a good strategy must work from where a company is, recognise where a company wants to be and plot out how technology is going to help it get there.

It must be alive, understandable, workable and engage at all levels of the business. It must be expressed in business language and enable people to see how they can contribute to the success of that strategy and the business.

Ollie Ross, head of research, The Corporate IT Forum