Page 278 -
P. 278
Aligning IT with Business
Aligning information systems and business goals is fundamental Authors Weill and Vitale propose another interesting way to
to the success of an enterprise. Chief executives officers ask their explore IT alignment. They pair categories of IT infrastructure service
chief information officers (CIOs), Do we have the right IT? How do with business models. Weill and Vitale propose aligning business
we know? How can we best align our business with our technology models with application infrastructure, communications manage-
systems? ment, data management, IT management, security, IT architecture,
Information technology research and advisory firm Gartner channel management, IT research and development, and IT training
highlights this issue in a report called “Getting the Right IT: Using and education.
Business Models.” Gartner asserts that the Business Model Canvas On the opposite page we’ve brought these elements together in
is a powerful tool that helps CIOs quickly grasp how a business a graphic to help you pose some fundamental questions regarding
works without getting bogged down in operational details. Gartner business and IT alignment.
recommends that CIOs use the Business Model Canvas to align IT
and key business processes. This helps them align business and IT
decisions without diving too deeply into tactical issues.
We find it useful to pair the Canvas with an Enterprise Archi-
272 tecture approach. Many of the various Enterprise Architecture
concepts describe the enterprise from three perspectives: the busi-
ness perspective, the applications perspective, and the technology
perspective. We recommend using the Canvas to guide the business
perspective, then align the business with the applications and tech-
nology perspectives.
In the application perspective, you describe the portfolio of
applications that leverage aspects of your business model (e.g.
recommendation systems, supply chain management applications,
etc.) and you describe all the business model’s information require-
ments (e.g. customer profiles, warehousing, etc.). In the technology
perspective you describe the technology infrastructure that drives
your business model (e.g. server farms, data storage systems, etc.).
!"#$%&'(%)*+(%,,---.9. /012013---/431-67
