R3Now.com – ERP, SAP, and IT Solutions for IT Decision Makers

Business and IT Alignment – Integrating Technology and IT Spend with Business

  Recently I was reading an article on CIO.com (where I also contribute).  The basic premise of the author was that IT is already integrated with business and all of the hype about business to IT alignment is overblown.  This is not entirely true.  As I commented: Traditional business schools teach two key concepts around business (once you have settled on a product or service) and those are value propositions and competitive pressures. IT (Informatio...

Why Indexed KPIs are Critical for Business Performance and Success

As I've written before not every metric for business or processes is a KPI.  Too many IT systems and too many companies define a departmental goal as a Key Performance Indicator creating unnecessary friction between other departments or areas of the company. By using a weighted index you significantly reduce, and in some cases eliminate the competing requirements. As part of a continuing effort on using key performance indicators for building a strategy focused organization I'm offering th...

Business Strategy and IT Strategy to Reproduce Apple Innovation

I recently read a Fortune Magazine article extolling the virtues, or more the impact, of Apple's Steve Jobs on business.  Certainly under Steve Jobs’ guidance Apple has come to represent the best of business innovation for several reasons:  Jobs built Apple as an innovative company After he left Apple the company nearly collapsed He returned and turned the company around from the brink of collapse Jobs at Apple, through his innovative guidance, has transformed three primary...