Why An IT Strategy Is Necessary For Sustaining A Competitive Superiority

By Floyd Grant


Nobody will blame anyone that confesses to an inability to keep up with change and new developments. This is especially true for technology. Hardly a day goes by or some new hardware or software innovation is launched. Organizations that strive to stay at the cutting edge of technology need to develop a sound IT strategy that will make sure that the organization is well placed to take advantage of new technology as quickly as possible.

Strategic plans are complex and require a great deal of skill and knowledge. The development of such a plan is based upon an analysis of the external environment and must include fields such as the political, technological, financial and even the competition. Anticipated changes in this environment lead to specific plans that will use such changes to place the organization on a more competitive footing.

Creating strategic plans for information technology is an especially complex task. This is because this field is one of the fastest changing. Developers of both hardware and software are fiercely competitive and their research and development plans are often closely guarded. This makes it difficult to predict new trends and products. However, without a strategic plan no information technology department can hope to stay up to date.

Organizations that fail to keep their information technology up to date are most certainly at a disadvantage. New technology often entails new methods of marketing, faster processing of information and more economical ways of communicating. Failing to upgrade also often put organizations at a disadvantage because they become unable to share data. New devices and software are often not compatible with older versions.

No strategic plan for information technology can ever be completed. The fast pace of change requires constant revision of these plans and it is often necessary to adopt an entire new strategy in answer to unexpected trends and developments. Strategic plans need to be managed by visionaries that are also practical in their approach to change. Many organizations employ full time specialists for this task.

No strategic plan can be complete without a realistic implementation plan. This can be extremely complex because it needs to involve budgeting, purchasing of equipment, the design of new user manuals and training for the users of the new technology. In many cases it is also necessary to prepare staff for the upgrades and to make sure that existing data is safe.

The management of a strategic plan for information technology purposes is a vital role in any organization. The person tasked with this responsibility needs to be highly trained and experienced in the fields of research, technology, managed services and strategic management. The task furthermore requires somebody that is able to lead highly qualified teams. That is why professionals in this field are highly paid.

Without a realistic IT strategy an organization can at best hope to be reactive and is most likely to lose its competitive edge. Keeping abreast with technological advances is vital for the survival of any business. It is certainly difficult to develop up to date strategic plans but without such plans it would not be possible to embrace new developments to the advantage of the organization.




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