As long as IT has existed, so has the problem of insufficient alignment between IT provider and business. The challenge has been one of ‘moving goalposts’. In recent years, major changes have been taking place. On the one hand, business processes are becoming increasingly dependent on IT, and customers are developing ever-higher expectation levels that in turn impose even greater requirements on IT support processes. On the other hand, IT services are being forced to deal with shrinking budgets and increasingly complex IT landscapes. The number of applications in use is rising, the influence of internet is growing still further and demand for mobile applications is increasing significantly. Add to this complexity the strategic options of outsourcing, offshoring and cloud computing, and it becomes readily apparent that those responsible for IT governance are being faced with an extremely complicated decision- making process.
One thing is certain. IT will have to provide business with greater added value while keeping its costs under tighter control. Maintaining a balance between value and cost will also have to become a goal. Aligning supply and demand, i.e. governance, will play a crucial role in this respect. This white paper explains how governance is evolving to become increasingly results-oriented. It then outlines how governance and the governance organization itself should be structured. It concludes by examining numerous governance applications.
