When people talk about "the business" and "IT" as separate entities, they may be revealing organisational silos rather than organisational reality. A better question is: "Do we share a common understanding of how value is created across the enterprise?"
For as long as I can remember, I have heard the same phrases repeated across organisations of every size and industry.
"The business wants this."
"The business has decided that."
"IT needs to align with the business."
I have always found that separation interesting.
Because when I looked around the room, I genuinely could not work out who "the business" was supposed to be.
If certain people are "the business" - the people who create value and make decisions - what does that make everyone else?
The people who build systems. The people who run platforms. The people who support customers. The people who keep the organisation operating every day.
The implication has always been clear, even when nobody says it out loud!
One side drives value. The other side supports it.
I have never been convinced that this is the right way to think about modern organisations.
The Divide Was Never Designed. It Grew.
I do not think this divide was deliberately designed.
I think it emerged over time because a bridge was missing.
A common language.
Business leaders often see technology discussions as complex, expensive and disconnected from outcomes.
Technology teams often feel business leaders do not fully appreciate the constraints, dependencies, trade-offs and risks involved in running modern digital environments.
Both sides are usually right from their own perspective.
The problem is not intelligence. The problem is translation.
The Reality Has Changed. The Language Has Not.
While the language has remained the same, the reality has changed.
Most organisations no longer simply use technology. They operate through it!
Customer experiences, products, services, operations and decision-making increasingly rely on digital capabilities.
Technology is no longer sitting beside the business. It is embedded within it.
Yet many organisations still talk about aligning IT with the business as though they are separate entities.
The conversation has not caught up with reality.
Both Sides Have Work To Do.
Every leader naturally sees the organisation through the lens of their own domain.
Finance sees finance. Operations sees operations. Technology sees technology. Risk sees risk.
Everyone sees part of the picture.
Very few people see the whole picture.
That broader perspective is where Enterprise Architecture creates value.
Not through diagrams.
Not through frameworks.
Not through repositories.
Through clarity.
Not because it owns technology, strategy or delivery.
But because somebody needs to see how the pieces fit together.
What Enterprise Architecture Actually Provides
If Enterprise Architecture has a purpose, it is helping organisations understand how the key elements of the enterprise fit together:
| Element | Focus |
|---|---|
| People | Leaders, teams and customers |
| Processes | Operational workflows |
| Information | Shared enterprise data |
| Technology | Platforms and applications |
| Services | Capabilities delivered |
| Outcomes | Value created across the enterprise |
The ability to connect seemingly unrelated issues.
The ability to explain cause and effect.
The ability to help leaders understand how decisions in one area create consequences in another.
Most organisational problems are not caused by a single issue.
They are the result of multiple issues interacting across the enterprise at the same time.
Looking at one area creates local optimisation.
Looking across the enterprise creates understanding.
And understanding usually leads to better decisions.
Perhaps We Are Asking the Wrong Question.
I think a practical place to start is by paying attention to language.
The next time somebody says:
"The business wants..."
Pause for a moment. Ask who they actually mean.
Which leaders? Which teams? Which customers? Which outcomes?
Sometimes the language we use reveals more than we realise.
The conversation about aligning IT with the business has existed for decades.
The fact that it continues suggests we may be asking the wrong question.
Maybe the challenge is not how to align two separate entities.
Maybe the challenge is helping the enterprise understand itself well enough to move forward.
I would be interested to hear whether you still see this divide in your organisation, or whether the conversation has started to evolve.
Have you worked in an organisation where this divide was genuinely bridged?
What made it possible or what got in the way?
Comments and thoughts
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