Delivering results and brand value is an essential goal for all professionals across any sector. And this is especially true when we talk about the integration between IT and business.
For a long time, the Information Technology department found itself in a passive, almost reactive posture, focused solely on support. However, today’s market demands solutions and services that are fully integrated into the organizations’ DNA, aligned with their vision and purpose.
The IT sector has the privilege of starting ahead of others when evaluating the importance of each segment within a business. This is because technology is in the prime position of being part of all the systems and processes that companies operate. Even so, barriers still exist to effectively align IT and business.
Want to understand what these challenges are and how to eliminate them? Keep reading!
The integration between IT and business
Currently, it is impossible to separate IT and business, meaning you cannot think of a business without planning the necessary technology. It is technology that permeates communication between employees, the company, and customers, controls production, manages payments, places orders, issues fiscal documents, and calculates revenues and expenses.
According to Gartner, global technology investments are projected to reach $3.7 trillion in 2018, a 4.5% increase compared to the $3.5 trillion estimated for 2017.
No company today can operate without technology, and the numbers show how they are increasingly seeking technology as a competitive differential. IT professionals need to be attentive to this movement and prove their value.
The IT department is no longer a merely functional tool; it has assumed the role of contributing to business growth. Therefore, the great challenge for professionals in the field is to fully understand the business strategy and make IT planning a part of that strategy.
Check out other necessary competencies to align IT and business areas:
Multidisciplinary teams
IT teams must be multidisciplinary, contributing to an innovative, creative, productive, and engaged work environment.
In about 3 years, it is estimated that the most expected requirement for professionals joining IT teams will be versatility. Therefore, keep this attribute in mind. The specialist role remains important, but it cannot be the only one.
Knowledge management
Another major challenge is conveying IT knowledge and its strategic importance to all stakeholders and key people within organizations.
For years, IT professionals kept their knowledge to themselves just to fix problems. Now, their role is not just about preventing failures, avoiding waste, saving time, minimizing rework, and contributing to process optimization.
It is up to IT to produce data—that is, information that can be used strategically by other departments. The sector must be the main convergence point for companies, holding all data relevant to the business and translating it quickly to support strategic decisions.
Systemic business vision
At Teclógica, we have always maintained the stance of diving deep into the client’s business, with the goal of breaking down barriers and establishing a true partnership—including in IT and business areas.
Our role as technology providers is to understand all customer needs and contribute to their results. This is only possible because we do not have a limited vision; we are able to view the client’s organization as a whole.
Servers, networks, and information security remain the responsibility of the Technology sector, but within a context where they are part of something larger. IT activities must focus on providing conditions for the business to thrive, through studies for rationalization and process automation, risk control, data analysis intelligence, and decision-making support.
Clarity about the future
This is the time to understand the context of digital transformation and “digital business” today and in the future. How will the technology used impact the business?
It is also necessary to evaluate whether what we are doing today represents the greatest positive impact we can offer our customers and stakeholders. How to do more? Do things differently?
As an IT professional, do you regularly reflect on and provide answers to these questions?
Customer focus
Still in an incipient stage in Brazil, the Technology sector is beginning to understand the importance of the Customer Success Manager (CSM) role.
This professional must be attentive and capable of identifying whether everything raised at the start of a project is genuinely meeting the client’s needs. It is important to know if clients are using the contracted technology in the best possible way, extracting its maximum value.
Beyond that, the CSM also guides the team to exceed expectations and contribute to the continuity of successful IT contracts.
Collaboration with other areas
With clarity about the current context, attentive to the demands of other departments, well-versed in different technology applications, and with the company’s DNA integrated within itself, the IT sector must help create shared services that will support other essential services for companies.
It must also create services so that people within its own area and others can contribute data, adding value to these platforms. Collaboration is the watchword for the integration between IT and business, today and in the future.
How to break down barriers and increase IT’s presence?
Adopting a work posture where IT is part of planning is one of the first steps to breaking down barriers between IT and business. At Teclógica, we operate collaboratively to deeply understand our clients’ business strategy and ensure technology can contribute to it.
There is no magic recipe, just plenty of dedication and a drive to make IT truly a sector responsible for generating value and delivering business results. To achieve this, it requires the presence of qualified professionals across different areas and a structured IT department to clearly and creatively map out how the sector can provide strategic support.
Once again, the numbers show that the sector is gaining increasing recognition. According to Economist Intelligence Unit, 69% of Brazilian small and medium-sized enterprises consider using technology to optimize their business efficiency.
When considered as the convergence point to improve results across all departments, IT is better utilized to form a systemic view of systems and processes. Thus, it provides the diagnostics needed to identify points of attention and helps visualize improvement opportunities.
Therefore, be prepared to continuously demonstrate the value of integrating IT and business within companies. With knowledge, focus, strategy, and versatility, technology breaks down barriers and makes a difference!
Written by: Aloisio Arbegaus — Commercial Director at Teclógica
