The Relationship Between Business Strategy and Information Technology Strategy

The purpose of this article is to illuminate the need for any organization to have its IT strategy and business strategy properly aligned. While many organizations view IT and business alignment as an event – it is actually an on-going process, or continuous journey. Therefore, the main problem is that many organizations of today still hold these two principles (business mission & IT strategy) as two separate entities. However, in the Information Age – collaboration is key to capturing and retaining market penetration. To not have alignment with the IT and business strategy together is not a matter of want it is a matter of survival. This report will expand upon the need for business and IT strategic alignment as well as examine what happens in lack of a comprehensive plan. This will be done by examining the Vermont Teddy Bear company prior to and after the arrival of Bob Stetzel, the Vice President of Information Technology. This document will view it findings and make recommendations on the immediate and future operations of the company.

Organisations today find themselves operating in an environment that is changing rapidly. The process of analysing the implications of these changes and modifying the way that the organisation reacts to them is known as business strategy.

Target Corporation enhance its information warehouses with latest big data that is technologically sophisticated to crunch large data using complex algorithms and provide vital output data for a daily operation as well as strengthen its capabilities over its rival which is a competitive advantage and speed up worker productivity. A quality tracking tool provided by information system tracks each package, parts ensuring the goods meet the quality standard.

A business strategy is how a company intends to accomplish the corporate level strategy it does this by highlighting key objectives and appointing these objective to different divisions in the company, now that we understand what a business strategy is we can examine how Hudson bay inaugurates this into their business strategy. They prioritize accommodating the demands of Canadians and providing quality service to their customers. In addition, they put great importance on

Strategy is a set of complicated tactics formulated by the executives of a company directed towards the achievement of company’s goal (Salmela, 2002). It is about all the path ways that a company would follow to reach its ultimate goal. It is a company’s strategy which helps to identify what it does better than the other companies in the industries, which may be different from what it does best. For successful strategy formulation and implementation, a company should know the needs of customers and should have knowledge of its competitors. Through a good strategy a company would identify that opportunity which makes it different from the others (Thompson, 2005).

“All things are possible with the right technology!” said Helmut Schwartz, the recently appointed CEO of Globe Alive, Inc. (GAI), an Edmonton-based software company. Speaking at a monthly management meeting of GAI executives, Schwartz continued. “With the right technology in our organization, we can facilitate efficient communication between global partners, discern in-bound supply chain elements from out-bound shipments, expedite customer orders in a timely manner, electronically transfer funds around the world, and monitor employees to ensure they are being productive. And that list is by no means exhaustive. Believe me when I say, all things are possible with the right technology. When I shared

What are the consequences of an information-based strategy for expansion into different segments of the credit card industry and into other industries?

Information Technology Strategy, this strategy should help save time, money and resources in the long run. It will address long term technology needs and it will help you plan for current and future technology systems.

According to Slack et al. The corporate strategy or business strategy is the guide lines for the whole corporation’s businesses in relation to its markets, customers, and the competitors (2007). In the same context, the same authors discussed the link between the corporate strategy and

A strategy is a plan that is targeted over the long run. Business level strategies refers to strategic alternatives that an organization chooses from as it conducts business in a particular industry or market (Griffin,2002). A corporate level strategy means that a company manages its operations simultaneously across many industries and markets. Netflix operates across both a business and corporate level strategy. The main areas across which Netflix operate on in their corporate level are business portfolio and partnerships.

“No longer is IT just another tool the CEO might use to accomplish costs saving and operational ends. Today, information technology can help solve product problems, set new levels of service and create new distribution and communication channels.”

In today’s environment, it is extremely essential for retailers to embrace technology in the course of their businesses. This is mainly because a significant number of consumers can be attracted and accessed through technological measures. It is essential to appreciate the fact that data, infrastructure and e-commerce software form the basis of United Parcel Service’s technological superiority. All these tools play a pivotal role in supporting the company’s e-commerce strategy and the company’s business strategy as a whole. One of the key attributes of United Parcel Service is its commitment to investing in researching emerging technologies. This gives it an exceptionally competitive advantage. United Parcel Service (UPS) consistently seeks to embrace technologies that that enhance the company’s efficiency (Russell Baker, 2008). The company’s commitment to technological advancement made the company appear in InternetWeek’s top 100 companies in 2004 (Russell Baker, 2008). On the other hand, InfoWorld ranked the company as the seventh company with the most significant contribution to technological infrastructure.

An organisation’s strategy plays an important role of providing direction of where company wants to be and how best to allocate the company’s resources to meet its objectives. The formulation of business strategies has evolved over the years and has been made more difficult in recent by the uncertain operating environments and global financial crises.

According to Kourdi (2009) ‘Business strategy is the set of activities where business combines mission, vision and goals of business and goes forward to achieve them’. Every business combines strategic plan and activities to achieve their goals. In other aspect it can be said business strategy is the subject by which an organisation make their roadmap

Companies over the last decade, has recognized that their survival to a lesser or greater extent, depends either entirely or partially to appropriate information system. It is established, based on lesson learned from both failed and successful organizations, that an information system strategy are to support or aligned with, business strategy. Similarly the business strategy can influences the choice of Information System used in the organization. A business strategy entails futuristic organizational planning that result in companies gaining competitive advantage. It is direct linked to supporting area such as marketing, procurement, and information system. The case of Comair airline, even after acquisition by Delta