Axios: Large Organizations Struggle with Business and IT Alignment

Axios Systems, an independent provider of enterprise IT service-management solutions, said that organizations are recognizing the value of ITIL-based ITSM approaches in their efforts to better align IT with the business.

 

Its comments were based on the Gartner (News - Alert) study, “Integrating the Transformation of Business and IT,” conducted in June and July 2009 and is based on more than 1,500 IT professionals from large organizations within North America, Europe and Asia.

 

In the report, Gartner researchers discuss the need for improved alignment. Gartner researchers stated executing an integrated IT and business planning process is a critical business competence that will help companies define how they will move from the current state to some defined end-state view of how they will win and make money.

 

In a recent survey by Axios Systems (News - Alert), it was found that organizations appear to be responding to Gartner researchers’ advice, along with that from a number of other industry experts, and are now shifting their priorities. Approximately half of professionals surveyed indicated their priorities in the next year include a focus on improving this strategic alignment.

 

Nucor Steel Indiana, one of Axios Systems’ customers, is an example of an organization that sought better alignment between IT and overall business goals. With Axios’ software solution, assyst, in 2006, the organization has benefits as the two entities (IT and the business) are now working better together.

 

assyst offers a lifecycle approach to IT Service Management through the integration of Help Desk and Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, Asset and Configuration Management and Service Level Management processes in a single solution. This consolidation is a key strength of assyst, as it guides the user intuitively through the processes.

 

 “With assyst, we now do a better job of tracking trends and workloads in IT,” said Bill Johnston, IT supervisor at Nucor Steel. “Items are less likely to fall through the cracks and we deliver RFCs much more consistently. As time goes on, we hope to see IT continually improve its focus on the RFCs that management deems most valuable to the business, which should then translate into more efficient business processes.”

 

Others also expressed positive sentiments.

 

“We are pleased to be able to provide software solutions to Best Practice-based companies like Nucor Steel Indiana,” said Markos Symeonides, vice president of Axios Systems. “It is great to see an organization using assyst in the exact way that we envision it should be used; Nucor Steel Indiana demonstrates an excellent example of how a holistic approach to ITSM with assyst enables IT organizations to provide value to and propel their businesses.”