IT Strategy is the process of developing a plan of action for achieving a business goal in an environment where technology is evolving at a rapid pace. (IT Strategy & review. n.d.)

Key concept:

Business Orientation, When creating an IT strategy, business orientation is an important concept that needs to be considered. According to the ISACA in COBIT5 (IT Governance Institute, 2007)business orientation “consist of linking business goals to IT goals, providing metrics and models to measure how well the goals were being achieved.” (IT Governance Institute, 2007) Businesses Orientation process is subdivided into 35 process that fall in line with areas of the plan, build, run and monitor how the business and IT goals are being completed.

ISACA in COBIT5 expanded greatly on the concept of Business orientation without mentioning it specifically the way that COBIT4 does.

“COBIT 5 suggest that enterprise should start with analyzing their business. IT strategic alignment through defining and linking enterprise goals and IT-related goals. Enterprise should start with a clear view of its mission and thorough definition of its supporting strategy and business goals. The business goals need to be translated into goals for the IT department, which are the basis for the IT strategy.” (ISACA, 2014)

Placing more emphasis on how the business goals of the enterprise has allowed for those in upper management and leadership to better understand the value that information technology.

Key method:

Plan and Organize,This method covers strategy and tactics involving the use of information technology in an organization. The textbook defines the method as “concerns the identification of the way IT can best contribute to the achievement of the business objective.” (IT Governance Institute, 2007) While there are three other activities that assist in IT strategy, Plan and organize is important as it helps IT professionals develop and visualize the technical infrastructure that the business will be utilizing.

ISACA in COBIT5 has expanded on the plan and organize method by adding align aspect to the concept. The definition expands by “concerns the identification of how IT can best contribute to the achievement of the business objective” (ISACA, 2014)

An enterprise needs to be able to develop an IT strategy in order to be able to show shareholders how IT will be able to generate value for the organization. When creating the IT strategy, IT professionals and leaders “must consider the business objectives of the organization and the current and future.” (IT Governance Institute, 2007) By evaluating all of the different risks and rewards that IT can provide to a business, IT professionals can ensure that the IT strategy that they employ will generate value and continue to meet the business needs of the organization.