Collaboration culture is enabling IT to lead business value, say 79 per cent of UK organisations
IT and business working together is "enabling employees" says research paper
IT's change towards a more collaborative culture is allowing the department to enable more employees than ever to add value to the business.
That's according to 79 per cent of respondents in a recent survey published by Computing, in association with Fujitsu.
When asked whether they thought the IT department had changed in the last three years, 67 per cent of employees involved in IT strategy and management at a global executive level said they believed IT is now "more of an enabler of IT projects than other parts of the business lead on".
Meanwhile, 56 per cent of respondents said that IT has more representation in the boardroom.
This in turn led respondents to be asked whether they saw the change in the role of IT as "enabling employees to add value to the business".
An overwhelming 79 per cent said yes, with only eight per cent saying no, and 13 per cent stating that they were unsure.
"The culture brought about by collaboration is characterised by more sharing across boundaries and fewer rigid hierarchies. It requires an acceptance that change is the norm and that everyone needs to move with the times," said the paper.
One IT leader who was interviewed added:
"Employees now have additional information available and many departments are able to see and share the same information," said the IT leader. "This leads to consistency in what people across business units and geographies see, use and share sending a clear message to the customer."
However, the paper concludes that while digital transformation is bringing people together, close collaboraton between IT and the business is still required to grow in order to "ensure that technological and… cultural issues are handled in unison and not apart".