Eight Ways to Bridge the Gap in IT and Business
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Be About the Organization
While challenging, it's the responsibility of the CIO to constantly evaluate if IT is working on initiatives that actually help the organization get one step closer to meeting its objectives. If IT is increasingly focused on trivial tasks, they won't have time to focus on initiatives that will help the company grow and succeed. -
Tune Into Business Needs
Once CIOs understand the needs of the organization and pair those goals with those of their department, they can lay the groundwork for more collaborative relationships between IT and the rest of the company. -
Truncate Tech Jargon
It's important to realize that a major component of understanding the business is learning to speak the same language as your co-workers outside of IT. It's best to avoid tech jargon. -
Show You're on the Same Page
To establish collaborative relationships across the enterprise, CIOs and IT executives should communicate well with other departments and demonstrate that they're on the same page. Refraining from using jargon that other departments don't recognize helps. Otherwise, you may alienate colleagues rather than unify them. -
Champion the Intuitive
While approachability in working relationships is essential to strengthening collaboration between IT and business, it also applies to the technology that CIOs supply. CIOs should therefore champion the intuitive and implement easy-to-use solutions. -
Encourage Self-Reliance
Introducing no-code technology can establish cohesiveness, as more people feel confident about the tools they use and won't need to deploy outside tools. Intuitive technology also empowers business users to become more self-reliant, so that they don't constantly call IT to train people or fix problems. -
Ask For and Act on Feedback
Ultimately, the relationship between IT and business must be maintained to function long-term in a collaborative manner. People and processes change, so CIOs should encourage IT to continuously communicate across departments and solicit feedback on technology and initiatives. -
Meet Quarterly
Consider setting up cross-functional meetings every quarter so that everyone can connect, learn what's happening in each other's worlds and work together to resolve issues.
The divide between IT and business departments in the enterprise is unnecessary and can be overcome by communication and collaboration, according to IT leaders. Cesar Fernandez, director of Product Solutions at PMG, draws on the wisdom of computer scientist Landon Curt Noll, now a cryptologist and security architect with Cisco Systems, who once said, "You can never say all the tricks have been done. Someone always shows you something you didn't know." To that end, CIOs should strive to become ambassadors of collaboration and encourage departments to step outside their silos and join forces. Together, IT and business make a dynamic team, Fernandez said. PMG provides an Enterprise Service Catalog of services and business automation software to streamline operations, reduce costs and improve efficiency. While there isn't a road map that leads to complete synergy, CIOs have an opportunity to disrupt any divide between IT and business with the following simple tactics.