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IT Management Slideshow:
Are You a Strategist or an Operator?

By Ericka Chickowski on 2009-06-30


Does your company run a strategic IT shop, or an operational one? According to the IT Governance Institute (ITGI), strategists are more forward-looking, are governed with an eye toward partnering with lines of business in order to innovate, and tend to return more from their IT investments. Operators are most concerned with cutting costs in the here and now, are governed to keep the lights on and often miss opportunities to realize value from their investments.

In a recent study conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, ITGI examined the behaviors and outcomes of these two types of IT organizations.


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Board RecognitionIT strategist organizations are twice as likely as operators to appear routinely on their board agenda. When on the agenda, strategists are more likely to discuss risks than operators.

Does the CIO Count?Operators are less likely to have a CIO that participates within the executive team, if they have a CIO at all.

Investment GuidanceOperators are also far less likely than strategists to have executive management identifying investment opportunities and selecting investments.

IT Governance AwarenessBusiness line executives at companies with strategist IT organizations are more likely to be aware of IT governance frameworks.

Asking for HelpStrategists are also more likely than operators to look for help and guidelines outside the enterprise for formulating governance policies and procedures.

Maturity ModelsStrategists are much more likely to have implemented IT governance than operators, which are often only at the initial stages of governance maturity.

Maturity ModelsOperators are 10% more likely to govern through ad hoc measures, while strategists are 5% more likely to have well-functioning governance and measurement processes in place.

Geographic DifferencesNorth American and Asian outfits are more likely to run IT as operators, while European organizations are more likely to run as strategists.

Outcomes Favor StrategistsOperators are more likely to run into barriers that prevent them from achieving full value from application implementations.

Outcomes Favor StrategistsBase on indices developed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, strategists experienced 23% better IT outcomes than operators.

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