How to set up ICT governance model

• Effective ICT Governance consists of the leadership and organisation’s structures and processes that ensure that the ICT department sustains and extends the organisations strategy and objectives.
• ICT Governance is about the decisions an organisation makes to ensure that ICT is working towards achieving the business and ICT strategies, including who is involved in making those decisions and how those decisions are made.
• Despite the continued growth in the use of technology, most local organisations prefer to focus mainly on their business growth, daily operations and financial management while ignoring the importance of ICT and its implications for their business.
• Local organisations need to create long-term ICT strategic plans in coordination with key business stakeholders and ensuring that ICT resources and investments as well as organisation strategic goals are coherent and cohesive.
• World class ICT functions implement effective governance structures to ensure that technology investments are considered in the context of a larger company wide portfolio.
• This can be achieved by establishing and maintaining an ICT budgeting process to support preparation of a budget that reflects established ICT priorities, upcoming projects, and ongoing costs of operation and maintenance of existing services.

Last week, I reviewed key attributes that distinguish and identify a truly World Class ICT function. This week I will focus on one of the attributes discussed last week, establishing an effective ICT governance model.

Effective ICT Governance consists of the leadership and organisation’s structures and processes that ensure that the ICT department sustains and extends the organisations strategy and objectives.

Many times ICT Governance is often misunderstood and confused with ICT Management. These two are different. ICT Governance is about the decisions an organisation makes to ensure that ICT is working towards achieving the business and ICT strategies, including who is involved in making those decisions and how those decisions are made.

ICT Management focuses on day-to-day operations and executing the IT Operating Model i.e. the daily routine ICT processes.

Use of technology affects all aspects of our local organizations, from the computers used by employees, to the systems that store and process financial data, and to the online portals that serve customers.

Despite the continued growth in the use of technology, most local organisations prefer to focus mainly on their business growth, daily operations and financial management while ignoring the importance of ICT and its implications for their business.

These organisations only recognise ICT as a supportive tool and fail to formulate an ICT strategy and align it with their business goals and corporate governance structures.

As a result these organisations face challenges around ICT governance which include poorly defined ICT reporting structures, lack of long-term technology strategies, and no processes to track or manage ICT investments.

Most decisions in these organisations are made in an ad-hoc and reactive manner. There is limited roadmap planning and in most cases the ICT plans are not effectively aligned to the strategic needs of the business.

Local organisations need to create long-term ICT strategic plans in coordination with key business stakeholders and ensuring that ICT resources and investments as well as organisation strategic goals are coherent and cohesive.

Local organisations should consider how changes in the business environment, staffing, technology investments and the interoperability of technology platforms and applications will impact their technology plan.

When it comes to ICT investment, there is no single right answer for how much investment is enough for any organisation.

Local organisations should determine the appropriate levels of investment in technology by evaluating the costs, risks and expected benefits of initiatives.

World class ICT functions implement effective governance structures to ensure that technology investments are considered in the context of a larger company wide portfolio.

This can be achieved by establishing and maintaining an ICT budgeting process to support preparation of a budget that reflects established ICT priorities, upcoming projects, and ongoing costs of operation and maintenance of existing services.