The Business Alignment
Building a foundation for sound IT investment decision - PDF

Investments in information technology are becoming more scrutinized due to perceived high project failure rates and a financial environment that demands IT projects generate positive results. Whether or not these projects are truly failures is debatable. There are thousands of examples of successful projects where investments in technology generated increased productivity and strong financial results. However, to say that IT projects often don't always fulfill their original promise is probably a fair statement. Why? Because there is often a misalignment between the true needs of the business and the capabilities of the technology.

So, how does a company that is preparing to make a significant IT investment decision rectify this? Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet. But, there is an activity called Business Alignment that can help. Achieving project success, like with any other business initiative, requires planning. This planning sets the foundation to navigate the typical project lifecycle as shown below:

Steps 2 through 5 are likely to be familiar territory. However, we believe that Step 1, The Business Alignment, is critical to laying the foundation for a successful project.

A Three Week Process

The Business Alignment is a rapid process, taking only three weeks for the average company. In this short time period CD Group will:

• Understand the business direction
• Evaluate your company's financial objectives and performance
• Evaluate the health of a key business process like order to cash
• Identify current systems capabilities
• Prioritize the organization's systems needs
• Evaluate the organization's readiness for change and preparation for project lifecycle

Unbiased Insight

Upon concluding the Business Alignment, companies are prepared to make better IT investment decisions because we have clearly presented the following:

• Business risks and opportunities
• Current technology strengths, weaknesses and high level business requirements
• Preliminary high-level financial justification for change
• Current systems capabilities
• Organization’s readiness for change
• A best in class template for managing the vendor selection process

This level of insight can only come from an outside party. Traditionally, when an internal group or a software vendor completes this analysis, it becomes biased due to emotional or political influences. Taking an unbiased approach to understand the business direction is critical to making the right information technology decisions and achieve project success.

About CD Group

Founded in 1992, CD Group is a nationwide consulting firm and is a leading provider of enterprise software and services for small and medium-sized Manufacturers and Wholesale Distributors. Our employees specialize in linking business strategy and processes with IT capabilities to drive financial improvement.

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