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Lexy
Monday, 11 December 2006 12:42
Businesses in Australia and the Asia Pacific region are falling behind companies in North America and Europe when it comes to aligning IT with business objectives, according to a survey conducted by the new Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in co-operation with BMC Software, the results of which were released today.
Less than 42% of the companies surveyed in Australia believe their IT objectives are well aligned to their business objectives (compared to 56% in the US and 64% in Europe).
In Australia, over 70% of respondents said the number one key IT objective for the next three years is to optimise IT processes. Surprisingly, almost 6% said they had no idea what objectives they were working towards.
Australia was similar to the rest of APAC when identifying the top three obstacles preventing organisations from better aligning IT to the business. They were:
1) Lack of IT investment;
2) Poor understanding among the business leaders of how IT should support business objectives; and
3) Poor understanding in IT of how to support the business objectives;
Australia felt more strongly than anyone else in the region that the lack of communication between IT and other functions was to blame with almost 24% of respondents identifying this as the major obstacle.
When looking at how to align IT resources to directly support the business, Business Service Management (BSM) was chosen as the most popular solution to bridge the gap by both Australia and APAC respondents. In fact, aside from Singapore (at just over 39%) Australia was top of the list with almost 31% identifying this as the number one approach that could be used to enable IT to become more business focused.
"In today's environment, IT and business are inseparable and yet many organisations are still struggling to align the two," said Mike Davies, managing director for Australia and New Zealand, BMC Software. "This ultimately jeopardises an organisation's ability to expand and compete in a rapidly changing global market.
"There is growing recognition amongst Australia organisations that failure to align IT with the business will cost them dearly. Business Service Management is increasingly being recognised as the preferred approach to addressing the IT-business divide. Given the success that companies in other parts of the world are experiencing through their BSM implementations, we expect the adoption of BSM in APAC to continue to accelerate rapidly."
Other interesting results from the EIU survey:
- Australia is the only market containing a percentage of companies (4%) which don't know who 'owns' IT projects within their organisation and takes responsibility for their success;
- Australia is the only market containing a percentage of companies (4%) which don't know who 'owns' IT projects within their organisation and takes responsibility for their success;- While 11% of Australian respondents stated the effect on corporate profit margins is how IT success is measured within their organisation, 13% had no idea how they judge it;
While 11% of Australian respondents stated the effect on corporate profit margins is how IT success is measured within their organisation, 13% had no idea how they judge it;- Australia houses the greatest percentage of companies spending more than 10% of annual global revenue on IT at 15%;
Australia houses the greatest percentage of companies spending more than 10% of annual global revenue on IT at 15%;- The three most popular ways in which APAC companies measure IT performance are through: 1) ability to cut/control costs; 2) contribution to revenue growth; and 3) return on investment;
The three most popular ways in which APAC companies measure IT performance are through: 1) ability to cut/control costs; 2) contribution to revenue growth; and 3) return on investment;- Nearly 30% of APAC respondents say that their CIO "is consulted but he/she is just one of a number of stakeholders" when it comes to decision-making outside of IT; and
Nearly 30% of APAC respondents say that their CIO "is consulted but he/she is just one of a number of stakeholders" when it comes to decision-making outside of IT; and- Only 19% of APAC respondents say that it is "highly likely" that their CIO will become more involved in business improvement over the next year.Methodology
The study, conducted in cooperation between EIU and BMC Software, polled nearly 570 senior executives across the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific (APAC) in October 2006. In APAC, nearly 200 executives were polled from companies in Australia, China, India, Singapore and elsewhere. The total number of companies surveyed in Australia was 55.
About The Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit, the business information arm of The Economist Group, publisher of The Economist, is the world's leading provider of country intelligence, with over 500,000 customers in corporations, banks, universities and government institutions. We maintain a global network of over 500 analysts, and continuously assess and forecast political, economic and business conditions in 200 countries. Our mission is to support global business by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on market trends and business strategies.
About BMC Software
BMC Software [NYSE: BMC] is a leading global provider of enterprise management solutions that empower companies to manage IT from a business perspective. Delivering Business Service Management, BMC solutions span enterprise systems, applications, database and service management. Founded in 1980, BMC posted fiscal 2005 revenues of more than $1.46 billion. For more information, visit www.bmc.com.
www.bmc.com.
