Intelligent Enterprise

Imperatives for the Intelligent Enterprise

Strategic business applications are judged on the basis of their ability to deliver quantifiable competitive advantage — to make businesses smarter, faster, and more profitable.

The editorial mission of Intelligent Enterprise has always been to give readers access to strategic information — about trends, techniques, and trade-offs — that serves such results, thereby justifying the theory that IT is a bona fide change agent, not just an operational arm. In these challenging times, we consider it even more important to clearly articulate the principles that can make this information not only provocative, but actionable: to help readers formulate the "DNA" of their intelligent enterprise.

In consultation with the Intelligent Enterprise Reader Advisory Board, the editors have devised a list of "imperatives" that would typify an IT department that intends to truly enable business strategy. Our hope is that this list, which is far from complete, will at the very least serve as the basis of further thought and discussion.

1. Enable decision-makers across the organization to act with the highest level of confidence and knowledge.

2. Extend the power of your IT systems to all stakeholders, including external partners and customers, so they can make smarter decisions.

3. Align business and IT goals; maintain flexibility of IT systems to exploit new business opportunities.

4. Realize the value of all operational IT investments through integration and analysis aimed at delivering business advantage.

5. Maximize value in the supply chain by collaborating with partners and suppliers.

6. Formalize and enforce best practices for IT; anticipate their evolution to achieve new business objectives.

7. Commit to continuous quality and process improvement. Learn from competitors and disciplines outside IT; enrich your processes with new ideas.

8. Through IT systems and services, facilitate stronger intra-organizational communication and collaboration.

9. Improve the customer experience across all channels through constant analysis, evaluation, and personalization. Base performance metrics on customer satisfaction.

10. Respect the privacy of customers, partners, and employees; use this respect as a competitive advantage.

• Privacy
• Your California Privacy Rights
• Copyright © 2008 United Business Media LLC