Topic: Business IT Alignment guide

No business will ever reach the goal of “business and IT alignment”. Should this discourage you from pursuing business and IT alignment? NO! It is a worthy goal to pursue. Indeed, it is a critical one to pursue. You might never reach alignment but you can take steps to get ever closer. This requires a process. Often, we ignore the fact that business and IT alignment is a process. This process does not have a starting point nor does it have an end. It is a series of “learn and do” cycles that incrementally get towards alignment. Let me explain.

One of the toughest questions to answer is: is my business is alignment with IT?
Prof. Luftman tries to answer this question in this paper originally published in 2000.

The spectrum of views on IT goes from the far right aka "IT doesn't matter" to traditional "IT is an enabler" to a more progressive "IT is a driver". Your problem: how to develop an effective IT Strategy? Read On>>

 A simple framework to understand the relationship between business strategy, organizational strategy and IT strategy.

 This paper describes an eight (8) step process to develop IT Strategy - "...to make IT a strategic business enabler, enhance shareholder value, and mitigate risk."

This business case template provides an outline to create a business case for your IT Investments linked to business value.

 Align business and IT strategy using Tracy and Wiersema’s Value Discipline model and "technology themes"

 This presentation provides an overview of the Henderson/Venkatraman Strategic Alignment Model.

Follow these 10 steps to align business and IT.

This article was originally published in 1999. However, it is on the money even today. Authors Jerry Luftman and Tom Brier walk through the issue of business and IT Alignment with specific examples and advice on how to achieve this goal. A must read!