What is IT Governance? Why Do I Care?

IT governance is the process and oversight structure that is focused on ensuring IT’s direction and investments are aligned with the strategic direction and needs of the business.  It helps to ensure that IT projects are on track and delivering the right level of value and that stakeholder and organizational needs are appropriately addressed.

IT governance is most effective when the IT organization understands the portfolio of services provided and how these services link to business value.  Plans, policies, investments, resources, risk, and culture are all areas of concern for IT governance.  All of the areas noted need to be directed and monitored to ensure maximum benefit to the business.

Why should you care about IT Governance?

Governance helps to

• ensure you are working on the right things at the right time which helps to improve the relationship with the business.  
• evaluate and manage risk which helps to reduce the stress on the IT team as there is an oversight body that is making decisions about what is acceptable.
• ensure performance is at an acceptable level based upon agreements.  Key performance indicators and metrics are used to understand performance of services and the IT organization as well as customer satisfaction and how IT is contributing to the overall objectives of the organization.

The effects of mature IT governance can be linked to employee satisfaction, employee engagement, attrition, customer satisfaction, etc.  Without governance, IT is often functioning as a silo’d organization within the larger entity.  With such a dependence on technology, the business needs a strong partner in order to be successful.  Governance is a cornerstone of building this relationship.

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At AdOPT, we are transformation consultants focused on strategy, innovation, process, and culture to increase effectiveness, improve efficiency, and optimize costs.  We wrote the book on organizational change in IT.  For more information about our Change Adoption workshop, vision and strategy development, or other services, contact us at info@adoptitsm.com or by calling 520-591-2427.