Technology strategy
Encyclopedia
A Technology strategy is a particular generation of an organization's overall objective(s), principles and tactics relating to the technologies that the organization uses. Such strategies primarily focus on the technologies themselves and in some cases the people who directly manage those technologies. The strategy can be implied from the organization's behaviors towards technology decisions, and may be written down in a document. Potts in FruITion (novel)
conveys through the book's characters that an IT strategy needs to be focused on creating and measuring business value from the business investment in IT, and not as traditionally done which is starting with IT and figuring out how to deliver business value.
Other generations of technology-related strategies primarily focus on: the efficiency of the company's spending on technology; how people, for example the organization's customers and employees, exploit technologies in ways that create value for the organization; on the full integration of technology-related decisions with the company's strategies and operating plans, such that no separate technology strategy exists other than the de facto strategic principle that the organization does not need or have a discreet 'technology strategy'.
A technology strategy has traditionally been expressed in a document that explains how technology should be utilized as part of an organization's overall corporate strategy and each business strategy. In the case of IT, the strategy is usually formulated by a group of representatives from both the business and from IT. Often the Information Technology Strategy is led by an organization's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or equivalent. Accountability varies for an organization's strategies for other classes of technology. Although many companies write an overall business plan each year, a technology strategy may cover developments somewhere between three and 5 years into the future.
The United States identified the need to implement a technology strategy in order to restore the country's competitive edge. In 1983 Project Socrates
, a US Defense Intelligence Agency
program, was established to develop a national technology strategy policy.
Relations
the important components of information tehno-strategy is information technology and strategic planning working together.
The IT strategy should also be presented to or read by internal IT staff members. Many organizations circulate prior year versions to internal IT staff members for feedback before new annual IT strategy plans are created.
One critical integration point is the interface with an organization's marketing plan
. The marketing plan frequently requires the support of a web site to create an appropriate on-line presence. Large organizations frequently have complex web site requirements such as web content management.
It is also common to produce a professionally bound booklet version of the strategy - something physical that IT teams can refer to, rather than the more disposable presentation slides.
. The technology strategy may refer to:
FruITion (novel)
fruITion is a novel by Chris Potts, a corporate strategist specializing in exploiting Information Technology and investing in change. It was published in the USA in February 2008 by Technics Publications, LLC. It sets out to offer a change from ‘the same old books about IT and strategy’...
conveys through the book's characters that an IT strategy needs to be focused on creating and measuring business value from the business investment in IT, and not as traditionally done which is starting with IT and figuring out how to deliver business value.
Other generations of technology-related strategies primarily focus on: the efficiency of the company's spending on technology; how people, for example the organization's customers and employees, exploit technologies in ways that create value for the organization; on the full integration of technology-related decisions with the company's strategies and operating plans, such that no separate technology strategy exists other than the de facto strategic principle that the organization does not need or have a discreet 'technology strategy'.
A technology strategy has traditionally been expressed in a document that explains how technology should be utilized as part of an organization's overall corporate strategy and each business strategy. In the case of IT, the strategy is usually formulated by a group of representatives from both the business and from IT. Often the Information Technology Strategy is led by an organization's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or equivalent. Accountability varies for an organization's strategies for other classes of technology. Although many companies write an overall business plan each year, a technology strategy may cover developments somewhere between three and 5 years into the future.
The United States identified the need to implement a technology strategy in order to restore the country's competitive edge. In 1983 Project Socrates
Project Socrates
Project Socrates was a US Defense Intelligence Agency program established in 1983 within the Reagan administration. This classified program, founded and directed by physicist Michael Sekora, was designed for the purpose of identifying the root cause of the United States' declining ability to...
, a US Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
program, was established to develop a national technology strategy policy.
Typical structure of a (IT) technology strategy
The following are typically sections of a technology strategy:- Executive Summary - This is a summary of the IT strategy
- High level organizational benefits
- Project objective and scope
- Approach and methodology of the engagement
- Relationship to overall business strategy
- Resource summary
- Staffing
- Budgets
- Summary of key projects
- Internal Capabilities
- IT Project Portfolio ManagementProject Portfolio ManagementProject portfolio management is a term used by project managers and project management organizations, , to describe methods for analyzing and collectively managing a group of current or proposed projects based on numerous key characteristics...
- An inventory of current projects being managed by the information technology department and their status. Note: It is not common to report current project status inside a future-looking strategy document. Show Return on Investment (ROI) and timeline for implementing each application. - An inventory of existing applications supported and the level of resources required to support them
- Architectural directions and methods for implementation of IT solutions
- Current IT departmental strengths and weaknesses
- IT Project Portfolio Management
- External Forces
- Summary of changes driven from outside the organization
- Rising expectations of users
- Example: Growth of high-quality web user interfaces driven by AjaxAjax (programming)Ajax is a group of interrelated web development methods used on the client-side to create asynchronous web applications...
technology - Example: Availability of open-source learning management systemLearning management systemA learning management system is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content...
s
- Example: Growth of high-quality web user interfaces driven by Ajax
- List of new IT projects requested by the organization
- Opportunities
- Description of new cost reduction or efficiency increase opportunities
- Example: List of available Professional Service contractors for short term projects
- Description of how Moore's LawMoore's LawMoore's law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware: the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years....
(faster processors, networks or storage at lower costs) will impact the organization's ROIReturn on investmentReturn on investment is one way of considering profits in relation to capital invested. Return on assets , return on net assets , return on capital and return on invested capital are similar measures with variations on how “investment” is defined.Marketing not only influences net profits but also...
for technology
- Description of new cost reduction or efficiency increase opportunities
- Threats
- Description of disruptive forces that could cause the organization to become less profitable or competitive
- Analysis IT usage by competition
- IT Organization structure and Governance
- IT organization roles and responsibilities
- IT role description
- IT Governance
- Milestones
- List of monthly, quarterly or mid-year milestones and review dates to indicate if the strategy is on track
- List milestone name, deliverables and metrics
Relations
the important components of information tehno-strategy is information technology and strategic planning working together.
Audience
A technology strategy document is usually designed to be read by non-technical stakeholders involved in business planning within an organization. It should be free of technical jargon and information technology acronyms.The IT strategy should also be presented to or read by internal IT staff members. Many organizations circulate prior year versions to internal IT staff members for feedback before new annual IT strategy plans are created.
One critical integration point is the interface with an organization's marketing plan
Marketing plan
A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan.Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, a marketing plan without a sound strategic foundation is of little use....
. The marketing plan frequently requires the support of a web site to create an appropriate on-line presence. Large organizations frequently have complex web site requirements such as web content management.
Presentation
The CIO, CTO or IT manager frequently creates a high-level overview presentation designed to be presented to stakeholders. Many experienced managers try to summarize the strategy in 5-7 slides and present the plan in under 30 minutes to a board of directors.It is also common to produce a professionally bound booklet version of the strategy - something physical that IT teams can refer to, rather than the more disposable presentation slides.
Relationship between strategy and enterprise technology architecture
A technology strategy document typically refers to but does not duplicate an overall enterprise architectureEnterprise architecture
An enterprise architecture is a rigorous description of the structure of an enterprise, which comprises enterprise components , the externally visible properties of those components, and the relationships between them...
. The technology strategy may refer to:
- High-level view of Logical architecture of information technology systems
- High-level view of Physical architecture of information technology systems
See also
- Business strategy
- Digital strategyDigital strategyIn the fields of strategic management, marketing strategy and operational strategy, digital strategy is the process of specifying an organization's vision, goals, opportunities and initiatives in order to maximize the business benefits digital investments and efforts provide to the organization...
- Enterprise planning systems
- Project Portfolio ManagementProject Portfolio ManagementProject portfolio management is a term used by project managers and project management organizations, , to describe methods for analyzing and collectively managing a group of current or proposed projects based on numerous key characteristics...
- Second Half of the Chessboard
- StrategyStrategyStrategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...