Strategic Shift: Driving Success With 'Enterprise Technology'

Building a more successful IT organization is a never-ending and multi-faceted goal. Most importantly, improving IT’s success is dependent on embracing a significant paradigm shift underway, in which Information Technology is being subsumed into “Enterprise Technology.” ET transforms the entire business, expanding the use and relevance of technology to more employees (rather than just knowledge workers), as well as to the physical world (think machine-to-machine and embedded devices). To become more successful, IT leaders must acknowledge, embrace, and leverage the ET paradigm shift. They must determine which technologies are tactical and commoditized, and outsource those to trusted third-party partners. They must also evaluate their organizational structure, and hire into or assign staff to two key roles: Technology Architect and Business-Technology Liaison. Technology Architects are responsible for working with vendors and partners to uncover and develop cutting-edge technology that can assist the business. Business-Technology Liaisons bridge the gap between business units and traditional IT to identify issues, problems, and opportunities in the business units that technology can address.