February - 2019CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM8in my view$Changing Demands for IT and Business Alignmentraditionally, Information Technology (IT)/business alignment has focused on governing IT project priorities from a list of business demands, often with IT working within a limited budget and with limited resources. The outcome is typically a response to the business cascading its priorities down to IT. In other words, the business tells IT what it needs and IT responds with how to do it. In this common scenario, the IT role is one of technical advisor, with limited consideration toward shaping the overall business strategy. If done successfully, traditional IT/business alignment guarantees efficient computing services and contributes to reigning in overhead costs. However, in response to today's fast-changing business climate--in large part due to accelerating technology advancements--many IT departments are being challenged to increase business-value generation by creating innovative revenue-producing products and by differentiating business services with the goal of winning work.Over the past few years, the Engineering and Construction (E&C) industry has experienced many challenges and has witnessed the entry of many low-cost competitors, creating a growth-constrained and commoditized business environment. To compete in this market environment, firms seek to transition into more profitable market niches, whereby innovation and specialization become critical differentiators. Leading E&C firms are primed for leveraging IT to enable productivity gains and to create the digital products and services necessary to gain market separation. Competencies in the areas of networking, security, cloud platforms, databases, application development, system integration, Business Intelligence, and analytics are key differentiators. The competitive landscape across all industries has created an urgency for many firms to implement a modern digital business strategy in which digital technology is central SCOTT CARL, CIO, PARSONS CORPORATIONT
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