The Emergence of IT-MG

As today’s Global enterprises continue to expand, the role of IT is more important than ever. From the manufacturing plant to the distribution hub, from corporate headquarters to the call center, information systems underpin just about every aspect of business operations.

Yet while most organizations have implemented technologies and processes to facilitate everything from the supply chain to customer relationships, the industry is only just beginning to turn its attention to a more structured, process-oriented approach to IT management.

The Rise of IT-MG

The result is the emergence of a new standard: IT Management and Governance (IT-MG). With ever-increasing demands on IT organizations to deliver optimal results, meet deadlines, control costs, and help companies meet compliance regulations, businesses are looking for high-level oversight and tighter control of IT. Several vendors are emerging that are addressing the need for IT-MG.

So, when considering your options, keep in mind the main goals of IT-MG include:

facilitating unprecedented cooperation across IT, finance, executive management and operational departments;

delivering promised results with control and predictability;

providing visibility into costs, progress and problems in time to act on them; and

ensuring the alignment of IT with the strategic priorities of the enterprise.

As IT-MG enters into the mainstream, two questions emerge: What has IT used to manage and govern itself up to this point? And, why change now?

Manual and ad-hoc methods of IT management, augmented with project scheduling aides and other point tools, got the job done until very recently. Even though IT has been in the business of providing business systems to the rest of the enterprise for almost fifty years, most organizations saw little reason to deploy a dedicated management and governance system for IT’s own use.