Respondents who agree or strongly agree that managers believe IT delivers value to their organization.
In our recent IT Budgeting survey, we asked our respondents to reflect on several aspects of how the IT function is perceived. When we asked how they think senior IT managers feel about the value that IT contributes to the organization, the vast majority of IT managers (88%) believe IT contributes value. But as we move further from the IT department and toward the end customer, Dennis Adams says we see highlighted "the different attitudes about IT at different levels of the company. IT managers feel that they do a good job. Senior corporate managers agree but to a lesser degree. Business unit managers are a bit more sanguine about the contribution."
Adams suggests, "The wise manager will always keep an eye out for how IT can contribute to the purpose of the organization. IT alignment is often a problem for senior managers, as they feel that IT costs a lot and have difficulty understanding the return they get from the investment. A deep understanding of the way the organization makes money and delivers products and services is key, and it's hard to do that from behind a desk. There is a tendency to focus on the feedback coming from the top of the organization. While this feedback should definitely not be ignored, it is not sufficient to deliver the quality of service needed in the customer-facing parts of the organization. The wise manager will get out into the business environment to learn as much as he or she can about what's really happening and what business really needs."
* Excerpted from "Slowly Rebuilding IT Budgets: Cautiously Investing in the Future," (
) Cutter Benchmark Review, Vol. 14 No. 4