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Vita Cassese, vice president of global business technology at Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals Image Credit: John Rae

In the past several years, there has been a growing interest in forging greater alignment between IT departments and the larger corporations in which IT exists. Some authors have attributed this to the collapse of the dot-com bubble, which caused disillusionment and confusion regarding the promise of technology, and the re-evaluation of technology- intensive efforts. Some have noted that, in an environment where the question "Does IT matter?" generates so much debate, tying IT closely to the rest of the business is a matter of survival. Others suggest that technology provides companies with significant competitive advantage and therefore needs to be close to the business.
While I agree with each of these points to a degree, from my perspective, the answer is more fundamental. The so-called divide between IT and the business is a misnomer. At the best companies, IT has never been separated from the business, and these companies naturally know how and where to use technology. At these companies, technologists understand what the business needs, and business leaders understand the benefits of technology. And rather than installing the latest gadget just because it sounds cool, IT departments focus on enabling business processes and creating value -- both at the top line, through a focus on innovation, and at the bottom line, through a focus on efficiency.
This theme -- enabling the business to achieve value through innovation and savings through efficiencies -- is one that I have seen succeed at Pfizer. It rests on a few key principles:
1. Align with the business. While IT-business alignment may be the natural state in which I have come to operate, it doesn't mean that it's easy to achieve. Being close to the business means being close to your customer, and this is critically important to being able to deliver what the company needs. This happens in big ways, like having yearly IT strategic plans approved by a board of business leaders; and it happens in small ways, like having each IT person sit close to the business teams he works with on a day-to-day basis. This enables IT colleagues at every level to be conversant in the explicitly stated needs of the business and to have insights into latent or unstated needs as well. In fact, it's a recognized and valued skill at Pfizer to be able to identify and act on latent needs in anticipation of the business side's formulation of any kind of requirements