How can you navigate complex information systems strategies in a volatile and competitive environment?

1 Assess your current situation

Before you can plan your IS strategy, you need to understand your current state of affairs. This means analyzing your internal and external environment, identifying your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and evaluating your existing IS capabilities and performance. You also need to align your IS strategy with your business goals and objectives, and ensure that it supports your value proposition and competitive advantage.

3 Choose your IS approach

There are different ways to approach your IS strategy, depending on your needs, resources, and preferences. You may opt for a centralized, decentralized, or hybrid IS model, where you control the decision-making and governance of your IS assets and activities. You may also choose between a custom, off-the-shelf, or cloud-based IS solution, depending on the level of customization, integration, and scalability that you require.

4 Implement and monitor your IS strategy

After you have chosen your IS approach, you need to implement and monitor your IS strategy. This involves allocating your budget, resources, and responsibilities, managing your IS projects and processes, and ensuring that your IS systems and applications are functional, reliable, and secure. You also need to measure and evaluate your IS outcomes and impacts, using appropriate indicators and metrics, and adjust your IS strategy as needed.

5 Learn and adapt to changes

Finally, you need to learn and adapt to changes in your IS environment. This means keeping abreast of the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in IS, and assessing their relevance and implications for your IS strategy. You also need to anticipate and respond to the changing needs, expectations, and behaviors of your stakeholders, such as your customers, employees, partners, and regulators.

6 Engage and communicate with your stakeholders

A successful IS strategy is not only about the technical aspects of IS, but also about the human and social aspects. You need to engage and communicate with your stakeholders throughout your IS strategy process, and ensure that they understand and support your IS vision, goals, and actions. You also need to solicit and incorporate their feedback, suggestions, and concerns, and address any issues or conflicts that may arise.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?