Moving to Strategic Partner Status - debate from the BCS Elite Forum

Baxter Thompson Associates, in conjunction with The British Computer Society Elite Forum (BCS) held a debate on the 21st September 2016 "IT as a Business Partner". This was hosted by Jon Baxter, Bill Limond and Jacqui Hogan. This debate looked at some of the challenges facing the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in becoming a Partner with the rest of the organisation and some of the solutions that could help the CIO overcome these challenges. 

We have produced a report based on the outcomes of this debate, and it is now available for you to download.

The debate participants discussed three questions, using the Mckinsey survey ‘Partnering to shape the future - IT's new imperative’ as a cue:

1)    How can IT become a credible and valued partner with the business?
2)    What are the causes for the current challenges faced by the CIO in becoming a business partner?
3)    What are the solutions for these challenges? 

Following the debate, Jon Baxter and Bill Limond presented a framework and infographic depicting the different perspectives of partnering that can be found in the appendices of the report. Baxter Thompson Associates believe that becoming a partner to the business requires effort in resolving a complex set of inter-related issues. However the start of this resolution requires four things:

1)    Clarity on the role of the CIO and their organisation. 
2)    Excellence in service delivery
3)    A commitment to enabling relationships
4)    A strategic intent.

Our latest whitepaper - IT as a Business Partner - gives some fantastic insight into how the challenges of IT Business Partnering can be overcome and how CIOs can move closer to being a Partner with the business. 

Download the report today