West Jet Aligning IT Business Strategy

“WestJet Aligning IT and Business Strategy”
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Abstract
Aligning IT and business strategies are essentially positioning Information technology to support the business objectives as well as organizational goals. Information Technology has become a critical business function for most organizations with high expectations of future benefits such as cost reduction, standardization of processes, productivity enhancement, improved workflow and communication and implementation of new business strategies among other. Therefore, an organizations information systems need to be aligned with its overall business strategy because in most cases it becomes a great source of competitive advantage. The paper is based on the WestJet Airlines Case. It will describe how Cheryl Smith may help her managers better understand the IT role in corporate strategy and the risks of failure to invest in resources for maintaining the alignment of IT and business strategy. The paper will also highlight the best tools that may be used in the alignment and the available alternatives to ensure the alignment of IT and business strategies.
Keywords: Information technology, business strategy, Strategic planning, WestJet Airline
Cheryl Smith may help managers at WestJet understand better the role of IT in corporate strategy by having a strategic plan to improve the managers’ understanding opportunities and limitations of IT. In the modern world, Strategic Information Systems Planning is highly relevant such that there is an increased pressure on organizations to invest heavily on technology and information systems to have a sustainable competitive advantage (Andriole, 2012).

The strategic planning process will dictate the end goal and means towards it, as well as a concrete plan, which depicts a future view and guides the decision-making process.
WestJet’s experience may influence the way the organization aligns its IT and business strategies by teaching the do’s and don’ts of IT alignment. It will also help the managers understand what is available regarding information technology, how IT is changing and where it is headed (Beveridge, 2016). The organization will then understand the people’s roles, objectives, and motivations and how well to implement business processes.
The best tools and techniques that organizations may use to align their IT with business strategy include open source technology. Open source technology, for instance, is vital for in-house IT manages and every other person throughout the organization’s value chain, from management to worker, suppliers, and partners. Alternatives which organizations may have to ensure the alignment of IT and business strategies include vendor-provided software. Organizations which do not have experience with the open source technology may rely on commercial software to get up and running. Vendors normally offer sales support to make this happen.
Failure to invest in the resources required for maintaining the alignment between business and IT strategy put the organization into some risks. For instance When the IT strategy isn’t aligned with business strategies; there will be high risks that the IT project will get abandoned before its completion.
Reference
Andriole, S. J. (2012). Managing technology in a 2.0 world. IT Professional,14(1), 50–57.
Beveridge, C. (2016). Aligning IT with Business strategy (7th ed.). Manchester: Natonal Computing Center.