Assessing Business-IT Alignment Maturity at a Colombian University

Over the last decades, the role of the IT department within an organization has gradually gained importance. Technology has permeated all areas within organizations and nowadays is the cornerstone of almost all business processes. Thus, business-IT alignment (BITA) is considered an essential success factor for almost any organization. Consequently, the evaluation and improvement of this alignment have been a growing concern among researchers and organizations. This study assessed the BITA maturity in a Colombian university, applying Luftman’s SAM (Strategic Alignment Maturity) model. The conducted assessment collected, analyzed, and contrasted perceptions of business and IT personnel. Similarly, we investigated the personnel’s perceptions at the strategic, functional, and operational levels regarding the SAM factors. Furthermore, we compared our results with other BITA assessments in educational institutions, Latin American organizations, and worldwide results. Finally, we drew some conclusions that can be useful for practitioners who seek to apply Luftman’s assessment.

he effect of information technology business alignment factors on performance of SMEs

Strategic IT-business alignment is being expanded by researchers and professionals owing to its beneficial effect on the performance of SMEs. Luftman (2000) [Luftman, J. (2000). Assessing business-IT alignment maturity. Communications of the Association of Information Systems, 4(14), 1–50.] created the Strategic Alignment Model (SAM), which integrates various alignment viewpoints to offer a cohesive perspective on IT-business alignment. While SAM was widely implemented for western IT studies by theoreticians and practitioners, its adoption is not evident in the Middle East with few available studies. The goal of this gap is to examine the effect of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) in Iraq of three alignment styles (communication, governance and competency) listed in SAM. The findings of the current study verified the beneficial effect of all sorts of IT alignment centered on a survey of 228 owners, IT managers, but the latter has also shown a strong positive influence across various types of alignment. Theory and implementation implications are addressed, and more research recommendations are suggested.

Strategic alignment maturity criteria as a catalyst for enhancing operational excellence in Jordanian industrial companies

High convergence level of strategic alignment between business and information technology helps companies enhance operational excellence. This research aims to identify strategic alignment maturity criteria level and their impacts on operational excellence in Jordanian industrial companies. The population of the study consists of all managers at top and middle management and a purposive sample is used to answer questionnaire items. In this survey, 288 valid responses are collected for analysis using SPSS (20) and smart PLS "V. 3". The study reveals that there is a significantly positive impact of strategic alignment maturity criteria (communication, competency-value Measurement, governance, partnership, scope & architecture and skills) on operational excellence. The most maturity criteria have a mid-level of maturity except scope & architecture and competency-value measurement criteria which maintain a low level. Thus, the study concluded that the researched companies have to recognize the business value of information technology (IT) investment and harmonizing IT architecture with business structure.

Maturity of Strategic Alignment of Business and IT in IT Education and Consultation Institutions

The strategic alignment of business and Information Technology (IT) is an important element for an organization so that the organization can realize the benefits of information technology for the business they run. Technological advances, especially in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 era, made all organizations that wanted to win the competition not only implement technology in their business processes, but also had to align the use of information technology with non-IT units in the organization. The impact of the Industrial Revolution was felt in all fields, including education. In the midst of a lot of research on measuring the level of strategic alignment at higher education institutions, this research focuses on measuring the level of strategic alignment that has been carried out by institutions other than tertiary education, namely the IT Education and Consultation Institute in Yogyakarta. The model used in this alignment measurement is the Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAMM). From this research it is known that the IT Education and Consultation Institute which actively provides consulting and education services specifically in the IT field, understands the importance of Strategic Alignment in Business and IT and applies them in carrying out its business activities. However, despite implementing IT best practices as what has been taught to its customers, this institution needs to realize and improve the areas of IT human resources, business communication and IT, and measuring the value of benefits and IT competence.

PENGUKURAN TINGKAT KEMATANGAN KESELARASAN STRATEGI TI DAN BISNIS (STUDI KASUS UNIVERSITAS XYZ)

Universitas XYZ mengedepankan Teknologi Informasi sebagai dasar operasinya. Dengan kinerja TI yang baik diharapkan dapat meningkatkan kinerja universitas sehingga sasaran dan tujuan perusahaan dapat tercapai. Akan tetapi sampai saat ini penerapannya belum sepenuhnya dapat mendukung proses bisnis yang ada, dan belum dapat memberikan kontribusi yang maksimal terhadap bisnis. pihak manajemen (rektorat) juga ingin mengetahui dan memastikan apakah inisiatif-inisiatif TI yang sudah, sedang atau akan dilaksanakan sudah sesuai dengan strategi organisasi. Universitas XYZ seharusnya menerapkan TI tidak hanya sebagai pendukung kegiatan bisnis akan tetapi menerapkannya sebagai bagian dari strategi bisnis. Pada Penelitian ini, dinilai kesesuaian stretegi TI terhadap bisnis di Universitas XYZ menggunakan SAMM (Strategic Alignment Maturity Model) diperkenalkan oleh Luftman, model SAMM dibuat berdasarkan pengembangan dari 12 komponen pada model SAM Henderson dan Venkatraman dan hasil penelitian Luftman yang mengidentifikasikan faktor-faktor yang menjadi pemicu (enabler) dan penghambat (inhibitor) terhadap keselarasan antara bisnis dengan TI.