The Sloan Management Review discussed the challenges surrounding enterprise software in an article recently. They quote a multi-year study of over 400 companies which showed that IT departments tend not to be innovative leaders within an organization but rather conservative forces. Forces who are viewed by business executives as "cost sinks and liabilities". Is that a fair characterization?
I do not want anyone who is managing an email infrastructure or a company-wide customer databases to be too innovative. I'd choose conservativeness any day. But at the same time, there are other areas in which IT managers can be innovative. Like in its uses of web 2.0 technologies. Rather than deriding these technologies as light-weight fads, IT departments can help their business clients and themselves by setting up web 2.0 labs to explore new uses of these technologies.
More importantly, IT managers should form closer relationships with their business counterparts. In today's context, every business leader needs to understand IT well - so let them. It may bring in new ideas and new champions. IT infrastructure (like ERP systems) is increasingly getting commoditized or outsourced. Value is derived from the fringe, innovative end of an information technology infrastructure. IT managers may not have all the skills to reap those benefits so befriending a business head may not be such a bad idea even if it means less control.
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