[Strategy-I/T] Alignment. “... business and I/T strategies should be linked or interdependent. Indeed, the operative word, linkage is used by many researchers to characterize an approach to I/T planning that responds to, as well as shapes, business strategies ...”

From Henderson & Venkatran. August 1989. MITSloan. “Strategic Alignment: a Framework for Startegic Information Technology Management.”

[Alignment] A state where the enablers of governance and management of enterprise IT support the goals and strategies of the enterprise.

From ISACA Glossary.

The IT strategic alignment with the business is a necessary condition for IT to fully serve the organization in synchrony and deliver all IT's potential, contributing to shaping the business. This means moving from a tactical role to a strategic one.

Re ISACA's definition, iTTi sees alignment not just as a 'state' but also as a 'process'.   

Related perspective(-s):

1.- iTTi Gloss: Corporate Governance of IT 

2.- Origen y evolución del concepto de "Gobierno Corporativo de TI"

3.- iTTi Gloss: Accountability

Big data is high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision making.

From Gartner. “IT Glossary”.

“Big data” refers to datasets whose size is beyond the ability of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage, and analyze.

From McKinsey Global Institute  “Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity”. 

“... big data refers to data sets that are too large or too fast-changing to be analyzed using traditional relational or multidimensional database techniques or commonly used software tools to capture, manage and process the data at a reasonable elapsed time.”

From ISACA “Big Data: Impacts and Benefits”.

(May require registration)

Where do so many data come from? They come from date harvesters about humans or digital activities -credit cards, mobile devices, computers, cameras on the street or buildings, and so on-, also data that produced by machines working in our environment such as sensors, or from logs of automated processes.

What can we do with them? We have to face the challenges from these data floods in such a way that the their analysis results in useful knowledge for science, governments, business, and finally, to improve our wellbeing. Such analysis is often done 'profiling' something banned by the Spanish privacy law (LOPD).

Related perspective(-s): 

1.- "Big Data", ¿un nuevo concepto?

2.- iTTi Gloss: Social Business

3.- Uso de las redes sociales en la empresa: riesgos de seguridad

1. The ability to map a given activity or event back to the responsible party.

Source: CGEIT Review Manual 2013 pg 165. ISACA.

2. [Activist] accountability [goes beyond traditional notions of passive accountability. It] includes the concept of “ownership” — meaning active, continuous involvement in managing a program and, most importantly, clear ownership of each measurable outcome and the associated benefits.

Source: The Information Paradox. Pag. 167. Fujitsu Consulting/ John Thorn.

3. Accountability: The board should be able to justify its decisions and actions to shareholders and other stakeholders who require it to do so.

Source: King III Report. Institute of Directors in Southern Africa.  

Reporting and accountability are different, both in objective and in subjective terms. Reporting is about the successful or unsuccessful outcome of an action. Reporting is addressed to those interested in said outcome (the stakeholders). Accountability / liability refers to performing the action and the way it was carried out as judged by the individuals or institution entitled to such judgement.

1. Definition a) above, rather defines traceability, which certainly is a requisite of accountability;

2. Definition b) would be more correct, in our opinion if instead of reading “…and the associated benefits” would read “and the associated benefits or losses”.

3. Definition c) asks the BoD to be able to justify its decisions and actions to shareholders and other stakeholders. 

Related perspective(-s):

1.- iTTi Gloss: Corporate Governance of IT 

2.- Origen y evolución del concepto de "Gobierno Corporativo de TI"

“Corporate governance of IT. The system by which the current and future use of IT is directed and controlled. Corporate governance of IT involves evaluating and directing the use of IT to support the organization and monitoring this use to achieve plans. It includes the strategy and policies for using IT within an organization“.

Source: ISO 38500:2008. Corporate Governance of Information Technology.

“Governance of enterprise IT. A governance view that ensures that information and related technology support and enable the enterprise strategy and the achievement of enterprise objectives; this also includes the functional governance of IT, i.e., ensuring that IT capabilities are provided efficiently and effectively”.

Source: ISACA. CGEIT Review Manual 2013.

“IT Governance. A framework for decision rights and accountability to encourage desirable behavior in the use of IT. […] IT governance focuses on a small set of critical IT-related decisions: IT principles, enterprise architecture, IT infrastructure capabilities, business application needs, and IT investment and prioritization”.

Source: MIT. Sloan School's Center for Information Systems Research (CISR).

Organizational structures, accountability, processes, decision rights, strategy, …, what, in your view, would be the terms and components that best fit the concept of "Corporate Governance of IT"?

Related perspective(-s):

1.- Thought-provoking pills

2.- COBIT 5, a business framework?

3.- Origen y evolución del concepto de "Gobierno Corporativo de TI"

4.- COBIT 5, ¿un marco de referencia de negocio?

5.- Introducing iTTi