This research essay descriptively details what is meant by Information Technology Strategy and why in increasingly automated business environment of today, successful firms are those that not only have an established IT strategy but also keep updating the same based on changes that may be encountered. Further explained in extreme detail are the reasons that necessitate the need for organizations of today to have an established and implemented IT strategy other than the competition that may be faced from other organizations which have an IT strategy. Also detailed are the values and benefits that may be derived by organizations by having an IT strategy and what qualities and elements of an IT strategy would need to be established in order to derive the maximum amount of value from an IT strategy.

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IT strategy is a term that is casually mentioned these days, and quite often it is misquoted. In the strictest sense, a process which aligns IT capability with business requirements is called IT strategy. As it is after all a process, it remains an ongoing exercise and may be constantly changed or updated. In fact, in order to be successful, some IT strategies can go through a long cycle of trial and tribulations and start stop approaches, until the right one is finally identified. Also important is to make sure that business requirements and IT capability are aligned. What this entails is that IT not only addresses the needs of a business as they arise; but also it is responsible for driving the business forward as well. What IT strategy is, is a comprehensive plan for developing IT capabilities, which are then used to further guide the running of the company (Barlett, 2014).

IT strategy is concerned mainly with technology policies, and outlining the vision of how the demand an organization has for information and systems will be supported by technology – essentially; it is concerned with IT supply (Earl, 1989). It addresses the supply of IT capabilities, services and resources such as developments of system, IT operations and user support (Ward, 2002). In essence, IT strategy basically deals with the methods which are preferred, level of security, mandated systems, platforms and applications, the facts about how information is provided. Hence it is concerned with the technological infrastructure that is necessary to fulfill all the requirements of the information strategy.

IT strategy can best be described as an iterative process involving technology which is used to align the IT capabilities with the business concerns. IT strategy is mainly used to enhance shareholder value which in other words can be stated as helping in maximizing the return on the investments made by the Company on information technology (Cio-Index, 2009).

IT Strategy can also be expressed in documentary from so that it explains how technology can be used as part of the company’s overall strategy and each business strategy. In the case of Information Technology, the strategy is usually formed by a group of members from both the business and from IT.

A well deployed IT strategy which provides actual benefits to the company has multiple components, the most important of which is people. Having the right number of and the right type of people is essential to having a successful IT strategy. Another factor is culture, which directly impacts the level with which the IT strategy affects the company (Zaki, 2011).

Technology is now deeply entrenched in our lives. In the business world, technology has gone from being just a tool that can be utilized occasionally to being the foundation of all operations and interaction with the market. The operations and resilience of most companies are mostly dependent on information and communications infrastructure that they have.

An IT strategy is essential to ensuring that current and future business plans and requirement can be met. Without this a firm cannot plan its own future and is very likely to arrive at a point where its technology capabilities are very different to its actual technology requirements. There are many documented instances where such a scenario has caused the failure of the business. Forming an IT strategy is initiated by asking the question, “Where do we stand today?” (Stamp, 2013).

Without an active IT strategy, a firm can only react and make spontaneous decisions based on a few factors, which results in disconnected and sometimes incompatible solutions. This is a highly ineffective way of doing business but it’s also very expensive. Many firms don’t develop a strategy since it is often thought of as too much work or rather not deemed important. It does of course, involve work, just like most worthy business endeavors do. If it was certain that time, money would be saved and frustrations would be reduced in the long term, that would probably make people think differently. It is possible that the exercise will produce the aforesaid benefits and perhaps also provide much needed competitive advantage as an added benefit. If a firm does not know how to approach this, such firm can find somebody with the necessary experience to assist them. It’s not necessarily a massive exercise and it is something that can be easily outsourced (Dwedge, 2015).

Research has already identified many organizational challenges to effective IT strategy development. If organizations strategy development processes are not compatible (e.g., if they take place at different times or involve different levels of business), it is unlikely that business and IT will be working towards the same goals at the same time (Frohman, 1982).

Numerous values can be derived from an IT strategy. IT strategy can be a facilitator for success by providing clarity as to what a business needs from IT, and how such requirements are met. It also provides leaders of the business with a clearer picture of what needs to be done to improve IT capabilities, and how they can benefit the business in the long run. It allows better planning and preparation to be done between business and IT, and facilitates a more successful and better relationship (Barlett, 2014).

Companies should not look at IT strategy as an add-on component to overall business plans that the companies may have. IT can help shape business strategy at its core. Businesses can usually take advantage of the IT capabilities in order to mold their plans for the future. This can lead to a less chaotic and even disconnected business plan that integrates and incorporates IT from the very beginning (Beveridge, 2015).

Companies that integrate new technological advances into marketing, production and other business processes often stand a much better chance of outperforming their competitors. In the event the business and IT strategy head in the very same direction, companies can choose the utmost best IT components to use for the business and for their customers. This can result in much happier customers, employees and other stakeholders, which can not only drive production higher but also customer consumption of products higher. In other words, companies can implement IT strategies that can contribute to greater value to the activities of the company instead of simply providing support. IT strategy and further decisions should work towards moving the organization’s brand forward, along with the strategic vision and mission (Horst, 2010).

Using IT strategy, firms can be more scalable. As a business grows from its inception with the passage of time, its IT requirements undoubtedly change, and without a plan to provide for this, problems can be experienced. There can come a time where the lack of the necessary IT capabilities can slow or somewhat prevent further growth.

As well as allowing a business to be scalable; IT strategy can also help a business to be more flexible. Businesses constantly react and adapt to the market, which requires changes in their IT services and an IT strategy can help a business to plan for such changes, and to have the needed IT support in place when they do so. The presence of this flexibility is essential to compete in an ever evolving marketplace (Barlett, 2014).

IT strategy can allow a business to reduce cost and save money. An example can be when IT services are planned well in advance; electricity usage with great reductions can be achieved. A well thought out strategy can enable everything to run much more smoothly which means time can then be spent on other tasks, to reduce cost even further.

Many smaller companies are often found struggling as they have comparatively smaller budgets; hence they explore options for implementing strategies at greatly reduced costs. Among the options that can be availed include computing via cloud and outsourcing of the IT function. But these should be used with extreme caution as options like IT outsourcing can expose the Company to the risk of being stranded in case there is a dispute with the company to whom the IT department is outsourced or other risks such as no confidentiality of the company’s data or no way to enforce the agreement. However, these elements such as outsourcing the IT function can also enable the smaller companies achieve other benefits such as more time to focus on their core business (Accenture, 2015).

Whenever IT managers and other stakeholders within the organization know their roles and how the work they perform fits into the business model and overall plan, it can result in a much clearer picture of the part that IT plays in the business dealings. On a day-to-day level, if an employee is able to clearly communicate with customers and other co-workers due to the company’s information technology which has been developed in-line with the business goals of the company, such an employee enjoys more streamlined communication and work processes.

Whenever IT department and officers of the Company talk about their visions and plans for the business as well as the IT department, results can include both parties aware of how the company works. If the corporate officers map out the goals and needs of the company business work practices, the officers and IT employees will be aware of the make-up of the business on a much deeper level. Both parties will have a better understanding of the resources of the Company. Such an aligned plan can also enable the company to understand how progress can be measured on the way to its goals, can be able to make changes much more easily when required and make slightly better judgments about the information technology and business (Beveridge, 2015).

Many avenues of increasing customer satisfaction can be explored by using IT strategy. Today’s technology is miles ahead of what corporations were able to do for their customers which also helps in building better relationships with the customers which in turn results in increased sales in the future. IT strategy can help in development of projects that can aid in improving efficiency and streamlining the business cycle and thereby reduce the time taken to complete the order. Making payments online is another advantage that can be availed by a proper IT strategy being implemented.

Traditionally, Information Technology is always viewed as a cost in organizations, i.e. a center like any other within the Company on which cost has to be incurred. However, IT can also be used to streamline the business process and reducing the time taken to process orders. IT, while also being used as a marketing tool, has the potential to circulate the message that the company wants to deliver to a wider audience and can increase sales. Some companies are well aware of the initiatives and projects that can be undertaken using IT, there is a significant gap when it comes to understanding and actually executing such objectives. This is where an experienced Information Technology outsourcing firm will be advantageous to hire. Such organizations can easily undertake the relevant projects and appropriately plan and execute such initiatives. However, utmost care should be exercised to make sure that more reliance than required should not be placed on such organizations (Velocity Network Solutions, 2011).

IT strategy assists a Company in gaining a competitive advantage through its efforts to the strategic goals of a Company or its ability to greatly accelerate performance as well as productivity. Some businesses consider the impact of the digital economy to be revolutionary. Constant changes in technologies and markets and the existence of new business models can create major changes in the structure of the industry and the nature of competition can alter at a very speedy pace. While during the same time, the digital economy has not altered the core activities of most companies. For most businesses, internet technologies just offer the tools, occasionally very powerful tools, which can expedite their success through sources of competitive advantage which can be low cost, excellent service, or even slightly superior supply chain management.

A strategic advantage that can be sustained in the long run is a strategic advantage which can be maintained for a particular length of time. Until the 1990s, Companies implemented various successful strategic systems based on IT which lasted several years. These strategies assisted the companies that owned them to have a competitive advantage and higher value for many years before their competition copied their systems (Turban, 2002).

It is suggested that the three IT assets— people, technology, and “shared” risk and responsibility, as a way to derive value and sustainable competitiveness from IT strategies. Another suggestion for accomplishing competitive sustainability and deriving value with the help of IT strategy is using inward systems that are not visible to competitors. If a company uses outward systems to sustain competitive advantage, one way to protect those systems is to patent them. A system can be developed that is comprehensive, innovative, and expensive and is very difficult to duplicate (Turban, 2002).

IT strategy development that is effective is even more important for today’s companies. As the effect of IT has grown in companies with the passage of time, IT strategy is now finally receiving the attention that it rightfully requires in business. However, most firms are still in the very early stages of learning how best to develop an IT strategy that is effective and how to properly sync it with an overall strategy of the business.

Balancing the many alternate manners through which IT can be utilized to change a business is a consistent task for today’s leaders. As of now, there is no well-developed development process for the establishment of IT strategy, there does indeed appear to be a consensus on some critical success factors and the major elements that are involved. With the passage of time, they will likely be further refined and even better-integrated with the development of the overall business strategy. Those that learn to perform this well enough without steering the Company into technical solutions that are rather inflexible are more likely to be more successful in the rapidly-evolving business environment of today.

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