Strategy for the development of information technology in the enterprise. Development of an IT strategy for a company using the example of a glass factory The purpose of developing an IT strategy

High market competition requires from its participants a high level of organizational structure and information technologies. It is the last part of the development of the organization that is able to achieve maximum economic indicators performance efficiency. In order to plan the development of an IT system in the right direction, one should Special attention focus on developing an IT strategy.

What is IT strategy?

Many managers of business companies at various levels are interested in what the concept of "IT strategy" is. In other words, one can define the concept as a developed development project information systems organizations. IN this document specialists must determine for management the information resources and technologies that are needed for the functioning of the production process.

The strategy should define priority areas for development, the level of importance of the system, its necessity for individual departments and the business as a whole. Automation will minimize costs and increase production figures. It is not necessary to think whether a concept is necessary or not. For any enterprise, this is a necessity that determines the important things of building an information service. The strategy includes organizational components - personnel, specialists, attracting specialists, and the infrastructure of the department - networks, servers, equipment, and more.

Goals of the IT strategy

The organization's IT strategy includes the optimal use of available information technologies, which are generally responsible for fulfilling the mission of the enterprise.

The main objectives of the IT strategy include:

correspondence of the main priority directions of development of the organization and its tasks;
formation of conditions in which it is possible to use resources as efficiently as possible;
applying resources appropriately;
taking into account the risks of using technologies.

Types of strategy

In the process of developing an IT strategy, the priority factors of the company's activities are taken into account. Depending on the size of the enterprise and the level of their development, there are three main types of this document:

Simple- is formed for small organizations with minimal use of information systems.
Medium– includes the development of goals and implementation necessary systems for the development of a structure with a small budget project.
Detailed— a comprehensive program with a full description of the organizational part and information technology infrastructure. It is fully based on the approved goals and plans of the organization.

Each of these types consists of:

a brief description of the enterprise and its activities,
IT processes,
business information support problems,
basic requirements for ensuring communication between systems and departments of the enterprise,
architecture from the functional and technical side,
project budget and portfolio.

Need for an IT strategy

The need to develop an IT strategy should not be underestimated. It is very important for the enterprise to understand when exactly the moment comes for the adoption of this part of the management of organizations:

the current informatization system does not meet the real needs of doing business;
emergence of new divisions, expansion of activities, opening of new offices and departments, general structural and organizational transformations;
direct dependence of business and information technology;
systematic implementation of the strategic tasks and functions of the organization;
the emergence of new technologies on the market that will contribute to the improvement of business conduct;
cost optimization;
a problem in the coordination and principles of the existing IT system;
improvement of corporate governance.

Also, the concept depends on the type of business activity and its size. The stability of the work of the IT department guarantees the enterprise the achievement of the main management goals and mission.

Approaches to developing IT strategy

Before starting the development of an IT strategy, it is necessary to comprehensively evaluate the current offers of the information technology market and select those components that will maximally solve the problems and needs of the organization. Working with "ancient" equipment is not only difficult, but also inefficient, so important system components should be professionally implemented.

In order to properly coordinate the functioning of the unit, you need to adhere to the main approaches:

the lack of a concept and strategy is a common problem of government agencies and departments that underestimate the need for this area of management activity;
planning of technical software resources. Annually it is necessary to increase the productivity of funds by at least 25%;
avant-gardists - gradual and partial introduction of new technologies and developments in the IT field;
focus on the key factors of a successful organization. New technologies should use institutional and industry success criteria.

The IT strategy interacts with the core business strategy. The technological side of the development of the enterprise should follow from the main mission and goals of the organization.
"Alignment" - strategic development information systems, which should directly influence the business strategy and redirect it to the right development vector.

Stages of developing an IT strategy

The development of an enterprise IT strategy should be carried out in accordance with generally accepted rules and developed approaches.

The project for the creation and formation of a strategy includes the following stages:

1. Preparatory work: analysis and study of all business processes of the organization, determination of their relationship and improvement of information about the principles of IT strategy management. At this stage, it is important to determine the components of the organizational and production structures enterprises to highlight the role of informatization.

2. Direct development of IT strategy:

audit of information systems - is carried out to determine the level of compliance of the company's tasks with the systems;
modeling - analysis of the main and additional processes of activity from the side of their information support;
setting goals for the development of technologies and their tasks;
formation of a project to create an information system, which determines the integration of existing components;
technical and economic confirmation of the project based on performance indicators;
making a decision on signing the strategy and its implementation.

The project must be carried out in cooperation with all departments of the organization. This is the only way to comprehensively analyze the current state of both structures and information department. The team should consist of IT specialists, managers, economists and executives. Together, they will achieve an optimally developed strategy and identify priority areas for the company's development.

What to consider in a strategy?

Developing information technologies of the organization it is necessary to correctly compare the problems and directions of their solution.

To do this, it is necessary to take into account the main components of the concept:

analysis of IT activities at the moment;
the requirements of the organization's objectives and their relevance to IT;
general vision of the technological side - architecture, management, software;
developed projects, taking into account the timing and budget to achieve a full-fledged structure for the functioning of information technology.

The IT goals and portfolio are the most important parts of the overall vision. Proposals should be predictable based on actual performance and offer concrete methods for solving problems and reducing costs. Business requirements and IT should be in a single relationship to achieve the goals of the activity. This is a kind of business plan with specific directions for development.

IT strategy is a comprehensive description of the development of an enterprise information system in 3 aspects: current, future and strategic. Each of which positions the state of the system, which is necessary for the normal operation of the company and the full use of all resources.
Information technology for many business areas is a key cell in the development of the organization. It is important for managers to identify the systems that need to be acquired and operated in order to improve performance. A correctly and competently drawn up strategic plan with a budget and analysis will form common goal business.

Introduction

Today Russian business is going through one of the most difficult and turning points in its recent history. Competition in the domestic market is getting tougher domestic enterprises and with international corporations. The largest foreign players are actively entering the Russian market.

It can be confidently asserted that those enterprises that can adapt to these conditions in time, strengthen their competitiveness, improve the quality of their products and services will become leaders in their fields for quite a long time.

Is it currently possible to accomplish these tasks without adequate use of information technologies? The answer is unequivocal - No! IT in modern world globalization, huge corporations, constantly improving the quality of products and services, shortening the development cycle of new products, mergers and acquisitions is the tool that binds the entire organization into a single organism, allows you to manage it as a single integral object and, ultimately, not only survive, but and become leaders and achieve their strategic goals. Certainly IT is not self-sufficient. It is impossible to simply implement the "necessary" IS in the organization and get an increase in the competitiveness of the enterprise. Only competent and thoughtful use of IT can lead to significant results for the business as a whole.

What is the key to the strategic alignment of business and IT development? According to the author, the presence enterprise IT development strategy or IT strategy. Of course, just the fact that there is a certain document with the name "IT strategy" won't change anything. Only if the enterprise has a strategic planning process that involves all departments of the organization, including IT service, can be developed as business strategy, taking into account the new opportunities opened up by IT, and IT strategy, consistent with the development of the company's business and aimed at achieving the strategic business goals of the organization. Thus, in summary, it can be argued that there is no business strategy for a company without IT strategies, and no IT strategies no business strategy.

The purpose of this work is to describe the development process IT strategies companies on the example of a large plant for the production of glass containers.

IT strategy is a conceptual framework aligned with the business strategy IT development plan. This is a document that defines the role of an organization's IP in the implementation of its strategic plans and describing how that role is to be played.

It consists of the rational use of information technologies available in the organization that meet and support the mission of the enterprise.

Process of creation IT strategies begins with setting goals for the information technologies available at the enterprise and determining the initial directions for development. Measurable performance indicators are then identified and compared with the desired values. The result may be changes in the activities of the enterprise. After setting goals and a list of measurable indicators, the main task for the board is to achieve these goals, and for the board - to make changes that contribute to their implementation.

I. Business Strategy of the Company

This section describes the high-level strategic management tasks that provide context for IT strategies, i.e., Company strategy, Requirements Government agencies or other pressure groups. This description will help the Company's management and IT department to determine where the Company's Strategy and IT strategy can support and develop each other. These strategic elements are fundamental to all future work.

II. Audit of the current state of informatization of the Company

This section describes the current state of the Company's IT infrastructure, the information systems used, the organizational structure of the IT service, its powers and tasks.

III. IT strategy of the Company

The third part of the document gives a description of the main vector IT strategies and how this IT strategy supports overall strategy Companies.

IT Strategy should define not only technological aspects, but also the principles of the IT Department, as well as its organizational culture. The Guiding Principles form the structure of rules and relationships that will guide all further action.

The Vision and Mission underpinning the activities of the IT Department ensure that the values of the Company and the IT Department are shared. The Guiding Principles capture these values for purposeful organizational culture.

Also, this section contains a description of the initiatives (projects) to be implemented. They are a logical continuation of the Mission and Goals of the IT Department and the Company. Initiatives can be of two types. The first is the continuation, curtailment, or development of initiatives (projects) that are currently under implementation. The second is the preparation and launch of the implementation of completely new projects. All initiatives should be prioritized, separating those that most support the achievement of the Strategic Objectives and those that, although necessary, cannot be classified as critical.

IV. Implementation of the Company's IT strategy

This section defines the requirements for organizational structure, distribution of roles and responsibilities of the Company's managers in the implementation IT Strategies.

Implementation of the above IT strategies is impossible without a significant change in the mechanisms for managing the Company's IT activities. On the one hand, these changes are designed to increase the transparency and manageability of the IT block of the enterprise, and on the other hand, to provide IT managers with real mechanisms for influencing the implementation of not only the Company's IT projects, but also business projects with an IT component.

V. Further development of the Company's informatization

Developed IT strategy The Company cannot be a kind of immutable document that is not subject to revision and adaptation to the changing conditions of the Company's activities. IT strategy should be a flexible tool to achieve the strategic goals of the Company in the conditions constant change both the external environment and the strategic goals themselves.

In this regard, the most optimal design is IT strategies by the “incoming” wave method, when the general direction of the development of the IT Company for the next 4-5 years is set, but at the same time the main (highest priority for this moment) investment IT projects are being implemented in the next 1.5-2.5 years.

revision IT strategies The Company should take place on a regular basis within the framework of meetings of the Company's IT Board. Responsibility for preparing proposals for revision IT strategies The company lies on the IT service and in particular on the analytical department.

VI. Conclusion

As part of this thesis, the task was to show the development process IT strategies companies by example IT strategies glass factory.

This work can serve as a basis for the development of informatization of the considered enterprise.

Today, many companies are investing huge amounts of money in information technology, while the degree of business dependence on them is constantly increasing. Typical phenomena in many companies are dissatisfaction with the current state of informatization of the enterprise, the low efficiency of return on investment in IT, the acquisition of hardware and software that will never be used, ordering the development and implementation of applications that no one needs, a lack of understanding in which direction the IT infrastructure of the enterprise should be developed, which technologies should be implemented and when, and this despite the fact that in technologies as such, many (although and not all) CIOs understand very well. These problems, as a rule, indicate the absence of a sound IT strategy in the company.

What is an IT strategy

ABOUT strategic planning in the field of IT in Russia began to think relatively recently. From point of view modern management a strategy is a long-term (usually long-term) action plan aimed at developing the company and achieving certain results of its activities, as a rule, certain competitive advantage and financial indicators (that is, some target state of the company). The need for strategic planning usually arises from rapidly changing business conditions.

An IT strategy usually refers to a long-term plan of action for the development of information technology in a company (that is, its IT infrastructure, information systems, IT department). IT strategy is an important part of corporate strategy, but today's realities are such that usually very little attention is paid to its development, and only after a certain number of mistakes made and wasted money, the company's management begins to think about strategic planning in the field of IT.

IT Development Planning Approaches

There are several different approaches to developing IT strategies - from total absence clear plans and IT financing on a residual basis to a balanced alignment of IT development plans with business development plans.

Perhaps the most common approach today is to plan for capacity expansion. technical means without a clear definition of the goals of such actions. Not being a strategy in the truest sense of the word, this approach is more or less justified for companies that have stable and unchanged processes and do not face the threat of being forced out of the market by competitors (for example, for state enterprises having a monopoly on certain activities).

Somewhat less often, an approach is used that is also not strategic and is based on attempts to introduce the latest technology without taking into account the real need for them and without planning as such. This approach can be very risky and costly to implement, so few companies can afford it.

Another approach, much more balanced and less extreme than the previous one, is to identify the most significant areas of the company's activities and to prioritize their automation. With this approach, it is very important to highlight the most important areas (at the same time, the company's management does not always have full agreement on this issue). This approach has become widespread in some Western countries in the early and mid 90s. One of the classic approaches to the formation of an IT strategy is to create it on the basis of an existing business strategy. In this case, the IT department, just like other departments in the company, develops a plan that supports the strategy of the whole company, given that the IT department is a support service that supports the company's core business processes.

Recently, an approach based not only on considering the IT department as one of the departments of the company, but also on taking into account the influence of information technology on business development as a factor that can provide business with additional strategic advantages. It is this approach that is recommended in the books of the ITIL library (you can read more about ITIL in the article dedicated to this topic). Within the framework of this relatively new approach, the development of an IT strategy is an analysis of the company's business processes and the need to automate them, the mission, goals and objectives of the IT department are formulated and, on their basis, the main directions of development in the areas of IT services, IT infrastructure are determined. and business applications, staffing and organizational structure of the information service.

What gives the company the creation of an IT strategy

The lack of an IT strategy most often leads to the fact that the IT department is mainly engaged in the implementation of projects that are not directly related either to the company's strategic goals or to each other and solve highly specialized local tasks, as well as "patching holes" (this is what most often all goes away about most of the IT budget of many companies) formed as a result of already completed similar projects and the "zoo" of technologies formed with their help. At the same time, the return on investment in such projects, since they are carried out without taking into account the requirements of business development, may be more than doubtful. In addition, this situation causes a negative and disdainful attitude of company employees towards IT specialists and their activities, and they themselves, no matter how highly qualified, begin to be regarded as service personnel, and not as full-fledged participants in business development.

The presence of an IT strategy presented in the form of a formalized document allows you to effectively develop an IT infrastructure based on the correct presentation of the requirements that should be implemented for successful development business of the company, as well as to carry out pre-planned steps, moving towards the achievement of the intended goals. The strategy should be a tool for making tactical decisions in line with the company's business goals.

Note, however, that in a constantly changing market, the IT strategy can also be modified, while this process is also desirable to formalize.

In such a situation, the IT department should include not only system administrators and developers, but also business analysts who can assess the current state of the company, predict the development of its business, describe the company's business processes, suggest ways to improve them, and based on this information formulate requirements for future IT projects.

Naturally, in order to implement an IT strategy, the IT department needs understanding and support from the company's management. The main problem in this case is that the implementation of IT projects is very often perceived as another waste of money, any errors of employees of IT departments are immediately noticed by other employees, while in the presence of a successfully working IT infrastructure and business applications, work, carried out to support them, usually goes unnoticed. Justifying an IT budget and, more importantly, proving a real return on investment in IT is now considered almost an art that is not accessible to every head of the IT department. The criteria for evaluating the success of an IT project are often poorly formalized, and this increases their subjectivity - after all, it is not always possible to correctly assess the contribution of information technologies as such to the success of the entire business.

What should be defined in an IT strategy

First of all, the document reflecting the IT strategy should formulate the goals and objectives of the company's business implemented with the help of information technologies; on their basis, long-term goals and directions for the development of information technologies in the company and the functions of the IT department should be determined. The same document should reflect conceptual approaches to the implementation of various strategic tasks (for example, which tasks are outsourced). Finally, based on the analysis state of the art information technology and IT departments should define a plan to achieve their target state and formulate criteria for assessing the success of the implementation of the stages of this plan.

At the same time, it is worth noting that an IT strategy is a conceptual document that should not contain unnecessary technical details, because its audience is not only IT professionals. All technical details of project implementation, description of organizational procedures, specifications of technical means may be contained in annexes to the IT strategy or in other documents.

In conclusion, we note that the costs of developing an IT strategy, regardless of whether it is carried out by the company's employees themselves or by specialists from a third-party consulting firm, turn out to be significantly lower than the costs of solving problems associated with its absence. However, the development of an IT strategy hardly makes sense without the involvement of the CIO and company management in this process. It is also meaningless in the absence of a business strategy - in this case, it may be worthwhile to limit ourselves to the approach considered at the beginning of the article, based on planning for the growth of computing power, or choosing the most priority areas for automation.

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