2.8. Summary

We covered a lot of ground in this chapter. For some of you, it might be old hat. For others, it might be new and a bit confusing. If this is all very new to you, take time to come back and read this chapter again later, after the dust has settled. It will begin to come into focus if you take your time and digest it in small segments. Perhaps reading this summary will tie it all together for you.

It's more important than ever before that IT departments contribute to corporate success. The use of technology itself no longer provides a competitive advantage by default. Companies are looking for IT departments to contribute to the forward progress of the company. The best way that can happen is if the efforts of the IT department are aligned with corporate strategies and objectives. A notable benefit from this type of alignment is that your projects and your department are more likely to gain much needed executive support if your efforts are contributing to the greater good of the company. If in that process you can also find a way to extend or expand corporate strategies through IT efforts, you're even better off. That's a tall order but if you don't look for it, you'll certainly never find it.