The six obstacles to IT-driven business innovation

Computerworld - A hot topic among CIOs and management consultants is the notion that IT departments should play a major role in developing new products, entering new markets or improving customer service.

Consultants call this "IT-driven business innovation." Some companies, such as Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co., are already doing it (see related story). But at many other companies, the culture isn't ready for IT-led innovation.

Steve Romero, who holds the title "IT governance evangelist" at CA Technologies, compiled the following list of obstacles to IT-driven business innovation in a recent blog post:

• The business doesn't view IT as a source of business innovation.

• A history of technology failures erodes business confidence in the IT department.

• IT doesn't have a reputation of optimal delivery of "bread-and-butter" technology services.

• The organization generally has an aversion to failure (and its response is punitive rather than seeing it as a learning opportunity).

• The business and IT don't merge into a single innovation machine.

• There's a lack of IT-business alignment that could overcome the previously mentioned obstacles.

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