What’s the business case? That is, how can I convince top management that we need to do this?
Make sure the right people are selling the concept; if IT is selling it, you’re in trouble. It’s much more effective if a cross-functional team consisting of IT and line-of-business managers makes the case to the board of directors that effective IT management is an important part of the company’s success. The team must be able to explain that the company needs a road map—something to tell decision-makers where the company is, where it needs to be and how best to get there. And of course, talk about the benefits—greater efficiency and accountability, along with reduced risk. Be careful, however, when talking about ROI: A lot of the cost of implementing an IT governance framework can be chalked up to what management should be doing anyway. Simply put, companies have to accept the cost, but they don’t like to hear that.