Linking strategy-aligned change with ‘business process fusion’ reduces risk: GartnerG2

As the pace of change in business increases, business risk is compounded by unaligned and rigid IT infrastructure. However, enterprises that incorporate ‘business process fusion’ will see increased IT infrastructure flexibility that improves returns and reduces risk, according to GartnerG2, a research service from Gartner, Inc.

GartnerG2 defines business process fusion as ‘the transformation of business activities achieved by integrating previously autonomous business processes to create a new scope of management capabilities.’ It will ‘drive stronger alignment of IT with core business processes and provide linkage of operational and management processes with a true end-to-end scope’.

"When looking at business in its entirety, strategy-aligned change links with business process fusion to help overcome the disconnect between top-down policy, strategy, change and bottom-up infrastructure constraints we call the Grand Canyon of Strategy," said Jorge Lopez, vice president and research director for GartnerG2. "This process coincides with the two things executives say are the most difficult to change: corporate culture and information systems. Using this approach improves business returns, resolves internal conflicts, reduces business risk and defines IT infrastructure."

GartnerG2 says that the precursors to good results are determining strategy, aligning and prioritising changes, and developing systems requirements.
Business process fusion enables accurate measurement and rapid alignment of IT to the business process definitions. This increases agility through:

* Accurate definition of priority business processes from end to end;
* Prior notification of possible changes and their impact on the infrastructure;
* The ability of the combined business and IT team to collaborate to perform complex changes in a timely fashion with high quality results;
* Enhanced competency of IT to make changes in its own business, software, and physical and network infrastructures.

"Once an enterprise is able to reduce the risks of IT dramatically lower than the rest of the industry, even tactical IT that is execution-oriented can become a disruptive factor and a competitive advantage," said Kraft Bell, vice president and research director for GartnerG2. "The outcome will reduce the risk of many tactical business initiatives, as well as remove internal barriers to integrate and transform IT in change initiatives for entering a new market or creating a new product."

Additional information is available in the report "Align IT from policy to execution through business process fusion." See www.gartner.com/fusion

•Date: 16th December 2003 •Region: N.America /World •Type: Article •Topic: Op.risk
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