As the credit crunch tsunami swirls round the world and recession rears its ugly head, businesses will respond in the normal way – by cost cutting. And IT service delivery, viewed by most as an expensive cost centre, will no doubt be in the forefront of this pressure.
But, can IT and business have an informed debate regarding the impact on service delivery from this demand? Can the same really be delivered for less? A simple blanket demand to save money could result in aspects of IT services that are highly business relevant being slashed because of a lack of understanding.
And what of the future? How does the business wish to position itself when the carnage is over? What must IT deliver, and when, to support this vision? In short, business and IT need to communicate effectively through a consistent, impartial mechanism. One that connects real business concerns and needs to IT service delivery, and which allows changes in one to be traced to changes in the other. It needs to be a single map that captures the current ‘now’ position and traces the route required for IT services to align to business survival and then onward to business growth.