IT Governance Remains Problematic
IT Governance Remains Problematic
February 20, 2008: According to a new survey of 749 CEO and CIO-level executives around the world, insufficient IT staff availability, service delivery issues and difficulty proving the value of IT remain serious problems despite the increasing importance of IT departments.
Commissioned by the nonprofit, independent IT Governance Institute (ITGI) and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 23 countries, the “IT Governance Global Status Report 2008” found that 58 percent of those canvassed reported having insufficient staff numbers, a hefty jump from the 35 percent reported in 2005.
48 percent said that IT service delivery problems remain the second most common problem, while 38 percent highlighted problems relating to staff with inadequate skills. A further 30 percent of respondents also reported problems anticipating the return on investment for IT expenditure.
Following ITGI’s 2003 and 2005 surveys, this year’s report tracks IT governance trends over the past four years, and despite the IT problems reported 93 percent of respondents said that IT is somewhat to very important to their company’s overall corporate strategy – a phenomenal jump from the six percent recorded in 2005.
A further 32 percent claimed that IT was always on the board agenda - up from 25 percent in 2005, while 18 percent said the IT department always informs the business about potential business opportunities, up from 14 percent in 2005.
“The bottom line is that many organizations around the world are needlessly sacrificing money, productivity and competitive advantage by not implementing effective IT governance,” says Lynn Lawton, the international president of ITGI.
“Well-governed enterprises have been shown to provide a better return to stakeholders, and the same goes for governance over information technology. Executives need to direct their IT for optimal advantage, manage IT-related risks and measure the value provided by IT.”
The survey also identified areas for improvement, including alignment between IT strategy and corporate strategy, with 36 percent reporting average, poor or very poor credentials in this area. Additionally, implementation of IT governance-related activities was found to variy around the globe, with the percentage of organisations that are in the process of implementing or have already implemented IT governance practices ranging from 27 percent in South America, to 44 percent in Asia and 50 percent in Europe and North America.
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