Business-IT alignment starts at the tactical level

Organizations can't get to the innovative alignment stage unless they first get to the strategic alignment stage, and they won't get there until the business is tactically aligned. Each stage builds on the one before, but ultimately, all stages must co-exist together. The point of tactical alignment is to get day-to-day business support, whether infrastructure, maintenance, or help desk, with the least number of people, and the smallest investment, and to automate as much as possible. To set the stage for strategic alignment, the CIO has to set expectations and make people understand that there will always be more demand than what IT can meet. Also, a CIO has to have the guts to cut people, time or costs in areas where they don't make sense. The metric is productivity for the business. To drive alignment, you need business leadership within IT and IT leadership within the business. You also need effective IT steering committees called by the CEO.

Learn more about IT-business alignment:
- read the article at CIO Update

ALSO:
- read this on why effective IT management goes beyond alignment
- this on alignment and executive collaboration
- this on making IT-business alignment work
- and this on the quest for business and IT alignment