Business and technology agenda for information systems executives

  • Authors:

  • M Broadbent;C Butler;A Hansell

  • Affiliations:

  • Dr Marianne Broadbent is Director of the Key Centre for Technology Management at the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne, Australia;Carey Butler is a Research Fellow at the Key Centre for Technology Management at the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne, Australia;-

  • Venue:
  • International Journal of Information Management: The Journal for Information Professionals
  • Year:
  • 1994

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Abstract

This paper reports results from a recent survey of large private and public sector organizations in Australasia, and is part of a biennial series analysing information systems (IS) trends in this region. Survey findings revealed the pressures of economic and business conditions of the early 1990s, and identified a number of key IS-related concerns. While investment in technology and systems may have slowed as a result of the current economic climate, business management still have considerable expectations from IS. The top two management issues were: gaining business value from current investment in information technology (IT), and achieving alignment between business and information strategies. Participants also strongly indicated that business managers have yet to realize the potential of IT to make a significant contribution to improving client services, did not fully understand the size of the IT investment, and did not believe that IS provided a quality service. Overcoming these perceptions was regarded as critical for successful performance as an IS manager. The three most significant technological issues were the development and implementation of an IT infrastructure, the application of client server architecture (CSA), and mechanisms for the establishment of interorganizational electronic data interchange (EDI). Implementing an appropriate IT infrastructure was seen as particularly important, and was viewed as a way of achieving the long-term strategic intent of an organization, while maintaining flexibility and containing costs. The overall message from the survey is that closer links need to be forged between IS and business management, with IS playing a more proactive role. The paper concludes with an action program for IS executives seeking to achieve this, and move forward in their organizations.