Love it or loathe it, IT-systems are a critical part of businesses today. Almost all processes within our companies have some form of IT-based component and there are some who believe that the IT organization is now playing a much greater role in enabling business strategy and driving service innovation. IT is no longer just about back office support.

Does the future of IT lay in shaping business strategy?

In this Process Perspectives podcast, Dr. Sharm Manwani, a professor of IT leadership at Henley Business School and author of a book on IT Enabled Business Change, discusses the changing role of today's IT department and the importance of both process and IT teams working together and taking a more strategic role in the business.

Key questions addressed in this interview:

• Is and should IT be taking a much more strategic role in driving the business forward?
• What role does IT have to play in enabling rapid response to changing circumstances?
• What do you think is behind what we might consider an IT project failure? Is it just that businesses have unrealistic expectations of what IT can achieve?
• Can process and IT professionals benefit from training in each other’s discipline?

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