Often seen as an expense, IT is a process that permeates the entire organization and must serve various business purposes, helping to ensure that the business strategy is carried out in the best possible way. As it is directly linked to the flow of information that permeates the company, both internally and externally, it is information technology that the company must rely on to build its growth in a solid way, based on precise and structured data and information.
That's why IT should be evaluated not by its impact on the budget, but by its impact on turnover. In other words, how much profit can investment in information technology bring to the company in the short, medium and long term? In this sense, it's worth debating how IT can enable the execution of business strategy, with a view to uncovering the benefits of this investment for your organization.
Increased company efficiency and effectiveness
One of the goals of every company is to increase efficiency and effectiveness, becoming more productive and, consequently, more profitable. There are two ways to increase the productivity of a business: more hiring and operational tasks carried out by people, or automating processes and people with the business strategy in mind.
A bloated workforce is synonymous with expenses, which compromises a company's efficiency. Therefore, the best way to increase productivity is to invest in process automation, i.e. using IT intelligently, automating all activities that don't require constant human intervention.
Improved stakeholder relations
It is essential for every organization to maintain a quality relationship with its stakeholders, whether internal or external. With the help of IT, it's possible to develop more effective communication channels, which makes it possible to work with dispersed teams in various locations, conduct negotiations without the need for a face-to-face meeting or even streamline contact with suppliers through integrated stock management systems, for example.
IT also helps you to have more agile internal communication flows, getting information to your employees at the right time, without intermediaries. With information shared, collective knowledge is built and your team is strengthened, which has an impact on several points in your business: motivation, productivity, organizational climate, professionalization and competitive advantage, which is also one of the major business objectives of every company.
Corporate knowledge management and market intelligence
All the data and information generated by a company has its value for business strategy. Some are very relevant, others not so much. But it is by managing corporate knowledge that the company is able to identify better business opportunities, innovate in products and services and stand out from the competition.
With a Business Intelligence tool, for example, it is possible to collect, filter, analyze and consolidate strategic information for the company, creating market intelligence. Once the company has the potential to analyze possible scenarios, predict trends and identify competence gaps to remedy them, making the business strategy viable becomes much easier.
Flexible management
The breaking down of geographical boundaries made possible by the internet has opened up space for companies to make their management more flexible with the help of cloud computing. In the cloud, it is possible to create and store documents, exchange information, share knowledge and even build shared knowledge through specific open or closed platforms.
A manager can make decisions by viewing a control dashboard on their own smartphone, they can send reports anywhere in the world via email or mobile apps, they can hold a video conference without having to travel, which speeds up all processes, reduces operating costs and makes the company's strategy much more agile.
Also read: Where to start to become a strategically focused CIO?
Measuring results
As Deming famously said, "what can't be measured can't be managed", which is why companies are increasingly investing in IT solutions that have the power to measure and analyze results. And what would happen if there were no tools like Business Intelligence, Data Mining, CRM, ERP, among many others?
Business management would go back centuries, based on feeling and luck. We would once again be in the era of "you can have any color car, as long as it's black", in the era of mass production and large corporations disappearing because of an insignificant mistake.
Have you noticed how IT is linked to all the company's processes and actions to make its strategy possible? Do you think it's possible to run a company today without the help of technology? Leave a comment!
