information technology governance [English]

Syndetic Relationships

InterPARES Definition

n. ~ A senior-level administrative structure that establishes roles and responsibilities, decision-making processes, policies and procedures that promote effective decisions regarding the effective and efficient selection, implementation, control, and use of information technology systems that align with business outcomes.

General Notes

The phrase 'information and communications technology governance' may be used if the policy includes communication systems as part of the information technology systems.

Other Definitions

Citations

  • Balocco, et al. 2013 (†559 p.150-151): In today's information-intensive environment, companies need to align ICT (information and communication technology) strategy with corporate strategy, in order to attain business goals, optimize information value, and capitalize on the use of technology (Balocco, Perego, & Perotti, 2010; Chan & Reich, 2007; Cohen & Toleman, 2006; Corso, Martini, & Balocco, 2008). In order to guarantee a true alignment between ICT and business, increasing attention should be paid to "ICT governance" (Broadbent & Weill, 2003; Robinson, 2007; Symons, 2004). There are several contributions in the literature which address ICT governance issues from varying perspectives. In this article, ICT governance is defined as how ICT decisions are made within a company. This definition requires all those company members involved in ICT-related decision-making processes (i.e., the Chief Executive Officer [CEO], all the C-levels, the CIO, the ICT suppliers, the ICT users) to be included when analyzing ICT governance (Rau, 2004; Xue, Liang, & Boulton, 2008). The ultimate goal of ICT governance is to guarantee that ICT support the achievement of company business goals through value-added contributions that balance risks and returns (Bowen, Cheung, & Rohde, 2007; Peterson, 2004). (†937)
  • Ferguson, et al. 2013 (†557 p.76): In this study, IT governance is effective if it is perceived to contribute positively to the level of overall corporate governance within an organization. ... IT governance reduces fraud by identifying various business risks and legal risks, by improving key internal control areas, and by predicting material accounting misstatements (IFAC, 2002; Kranacher, Riley & Wells, 2010; Dechow et al., 2011). (†935)
  • Furht and Escalante 2010 (†583 p.51): An organization’s objective for its use of IT in general is to realize certain information-based business processes while conforming with applicable laws and regulations, and optimizing the cost/benefit tradeoff. Whether implemented with cloud computing or with conventional IT, the organization’s high-level IT objectives are the same. The promise of cloud computing is that over time, organizations may be able to meet those objectives with an ever improving cost/benefit tradeoff. (†1169)
  • Gartner IT Glossary (†298 s.v. "information technology governance"): IT demand governance (ITDG–what IT should work on) is the process by which organizations ensure the effective evaluation, selection, prioritization, and funding of competing IT investments; oversee their implementation; and extract (measurable) business benefits. ITDG is a business investment decision-making and oversight process, and it is a business management responsibility. IT supply-side governance (ITSG–how IT should do what it does) is concerned with ensuring that the IT organization operates in an effective, efficient and compliant fashion, and it is primarily a CIO responsibility. (†932)
  • ISACA Glossary (†743 s.v. IT governance): The responsibility of executives and the board of directors; consists of the leadership, organizational structures and processes that ensure that the enterprise’s IT sustains and extends the enterprise's strategies and objectives. (†1785)
  • Mohamed and Kaur a/p Gian Singh 2012 (†558 p.91): IT governance spans involvement of personnel at various levels of an enterprise (i.e. from strategic to operational levels). Each level of the organizational hierarchy and IT function has different IT governance needs. Hence, IT governance encapsulates governing structure, leadership, processes, and relational mechanisms to address performance while providing assurances that information is protected from IT-related risks. (†936)
  • Saetang and Haider 2011 (†569 p.79): Organizations need to take stock of their resources, competencies, and capabilities before attempting to implement an IT governance framework. Implementation of an IT governance framework is not a one off activity, it is actually an ongoing process that maps IT to the business such that the IT infrastructure evolves and matures with the organizational capabilities. (†955)
  • Saidah and Abdelbaki 2014 (†739 p. 672): IT governance is responsible for aligning the IT assets with the business goals and strategy to deliver values to the entity. (†1707)
  • Simonsson, et. al. 2010 (†571 p.11): IT governance is a new concept. It emerged in the nineties when Henderson, Venkatraman, and Loh used the term to describe the complex array of interfirm relationships involved in achieving strategic alignment between business and IT (Loh & Venkatraman, 1993; Loh & Henderson, 1993). IT governance today concerns how the IT organization is managed and structured, and it provides mechanisms that enable the development of integrated business and IT plans; it allocates the responsibilities within the IT organization; and it prioritizes IT initiatives (Debraceny, 2006; Holm, Larsen, Kuhn Pedersen, & Viborg Andersen, 2006; Ridley, Young, & Carroll, 2004; Salle & Rosenthal, 2005; Van Grembergen et al 2004; Weill & Ross, 2004). It is important to ensure that the IT governance is not only designed to achieve internal efficiency in the IT organization, such as deploying good IT processes and making sure that the means and goals are documented. The final goal of good IT governance is rather to provide business enabling support. (†959)
  • Smallwood 2014 (†566 Chapter Two): IT governance consists of following established frameworks and best practices to gain the most leverage and benefit out of IT investments and support accomplishment of business objectives. (†950)
  • Wikipedia (†387 s.v. information technology governance): IT governance systematically involves everyone: board members, executive management, staff, customers, communities, investors and regulators. An IT Governance framework is used to identify, establish and link the mechanisms to oversee the use of information and related technology to create value and manage the risks associated with using information and technology. (†934)