IT strategy is the plan for the development information systems that should correspond with the business strategy of the company, with its current and future requirements.

When is it necessary to develop the IT strategy?

• Company is developing, but the quality of management is deteriorating;
• It is clear that technologies used in the company do not support all functions and objectives of management;
• Investments in IT service, hardware and software are increased, but no visible effective returns are present;
• Selection of new IT systems gets harder, company is not sure whether desired system is compatible with used systems or not, whether it can support business objectives of not.
• Company has hard times deciding whether to completely change the IT system or fill it with new technologies gradually.

These problems are common to many growing companies and can be solved by developing and implementing common IT strategy.

IT strategy formation project comprises following stages:

Preparation Stage:

• Analysis of company’s interests and management objectives;
• Analysis of main and supporting processes of the company operations;
• Analysis of management system and principles.

IT Strategy Formation Stage:

• Audit of information systems that should reveal their correspondence with different levels of management and functional objectives, information flows data storage and access processors, user environment, etc.;
• Simulation of main and supporting processes and their analysis in terms of their relation with information support and management structure;
• Formulation of IT objectives according to the business objectives. Separation of major aims of automation and development of ways of their realization;
• Development of complex IT system project that will envisage integration of existing and future technology components;
• Feasibility study of each IT project of the company based on selected effectiveness criteria.

What advances can company gain through an IT strategy?

IT strategy ensures integrated approach to the automation of every field of the company management (finances, products, logistics, sales, marketing, etc.). It helps companies avoid common problems that occur often in growing organizations.

IT strategy enables companies to:

• Optimize IT expenditures;
• Decrease IT system deployment risks;
• Provide adequate information support to company’s business processes;
• Develop IT systems according to the growth of business.