Engaging in turbulent times: direction setting for business and IT alignment.

Abstract

In 2008, the global financial and economic crisis (GFEC) took many businesses around the world by surprise. After a period of steady growth, companies found themselves suddenly confronted with high levels of uncertainty about the evolution of major economic and social forces. This paper investigates the hypothesis that, during these turbulent times, a number of companies took the opportunity to re-invigorate their business-IT engagement practices. The study was based on 28 interviews with CIOs and CFOs (conducted in 2009) for whom the GFEC has provided a context in which the CIO and the IT department could prove their worth as true business partners beyond mere short-term cost-cutting. In this article, the authors also present a theme-based compilation of key insights that describe the opportunities these executives saw for a more effective engagement between business and IT.