It’s almost cliche at this point to explain that IT must be aligned with the business strategy for either to succeed yet it’s still as true in healthcare as anywhere.
"IT strategic planning is very dependent on and must be aligned with the enterprise strategy. Yet, traditionally these two activities have been done separately - and in many cases, not aligned and integrated as one overall organizational plan,” said Bob Schwyn, director at The Chartis Group.
Schwyn explained that the challenge is without IT being part of the business strategy development itself, and at the table to evaluate what is needed to achieve it, it is difficult to fully understand the capabilities, investments and processes needed to position for where the organization is going and how to position IT to meet the needs.
What’s more, it is also nearly impossible to influence the business strategy with new directions and services made possible by information technology without the close and aligned integration of these two activities. Instead of two distinct and unaligned planning approaches, his and Ward’s point of view is that IT be an integral part of enterprise strategic planning.
While many organizations recognize the importance of alignment, most are still challenged in executing a planning process that truly spans all dimensions of where IT can accelerate and support the organization's business imperatives, Schwyn said.
Schwyn, along with TriHealth Senior Vice-president and CIO John Ward, will be presenting at HIMSS17 in Orlando during the education session “How to Make IT the Underpinning of the Enterprise Strategy,” on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, from 8:30-9:30 AM EST in room 307A.
"Our presentation will outline a case study of how IT became a strategic underpinning of the enterprise strategy at TriHealth. We will be sharing an actual case study where this process was well aligned, orchestrated well with the business and resulted in significant clarity of IT's future role and a significant change in IT capabilities,” Ward said.
Ward said he and Schwyn will describe how and why IT can and should become a leading component in setting an organization's business strategy. Attendees will learn why the process matters and the specific steps to take. They will learn IT's role in the process and the key steps CIOs can take in guiding and steering strategy conversations.
HIMSS17 runs from Feb. 19-23, 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center.
This article is part of our ongoing coverage of HIMSS17. Visit Destination HIMSS17 for previews, reporting live from the show floor and after the conference.