[07.05.2008 first posted on silicon republic]
For some time now, industry commentators have alluded to the strategic importance of IT and the need for heads of IT to be involved in strategy formulation and become real partners with the business.

It all sounds great; few IT professionals would argue against it. However, the real question is – is this common practice in Ireland and, if not, why not?
In a recent IT survey, we examined the status of IT as a function within organisations in Ireland. We looked at attitudes to IT, the organisational level of the most senior IT person and the ability of the IT function to market itself to its customers.
Our findings show that IT professionals have a lot of work to do to raise the profile of IT within business and to get the function recognised as one that delivers strategic value. Some key points emerged from our review:
- Only 17pc of organisations have an IT person on the board - One third of respondents view IT as a support function and not a strategic asset - Half of those questioned rated their ability to sell the IT function to the business at either 5 or 6 (where 10 is excellent).
Based on these findings and our own experience, the challenge of raising the profile of IT within the organisation is a difficult one. It requires a structured approach and, for many IT departments, a culture change. It can be done but only if the head of IT really wants to do it and is prepared to drive the changes required.
If the will to change is there, there are a few key things you could start with:
Ensure the nuts and bolts work There is no point in trying to raise the profile of IT if the basics are not working. You should focus on ensuring that your help desk works well and is responsive and proactive. Publishing metrics for this area is key to demonstrating effective performance, and looking at implementing standards like ITIL can also be useful. You need to ensure that the engagement model for issues and service requests is clear and well defined.
Make IT easy to do business with IT is about customer service and this means that all staff members need to be approachable. They need to accept that they have to market IT and demonstrate value. Recognise that business and soft skills are just as important as technical skills and invest in your people to build these.
Communicate Communication does not just happen. It needs to be planned and structured to be effective. Ensure you communicate clearly and regularly with all customers. This means meeting stakeholders at all levels (not just managers) and having a mix of formal and informal ways of communicating with customers. You should also look at how you can use technology (eg webcasts) to interact with business. You should benchmark your performance and publish the results.
Think of value add IT should not be just about hardware and infrastructure. Many IT departments have skills that can add value to other business areas. Consider whether you can offer services like project management to the business as a way of raising your profile and building better relationships with your customers.
In summary, you should be looking to approach things in the same way a commercial organisation would approach its customers. You need to ensure the IT function provides the right services at the right time on the right terms. You need to make yourself easy to do business with and you need to see that marketing IT is a key part of your role. It may not be easy and, for many IT organisations, it will require a lot of effort. But if you succeed, IT will be viewed positively by your customers at all levels.
By Pat Millar, managing director, Clarion Consulting