IT-Business Strategic Alignment Maturity: A Case Study

Both information technology (IT) and business leaders are continually looking for management practices to help them align their IT and business strategies. Alignment seems to grow in importance as companies strive to link IT and business in light of dynamic business strategies and continuously evolving technologies. Importance aside, what is not clear is how to achieve and sustain harmony among business and IT, how to assess the maturity of alignment, and what the impact of misalignment might be on the firm. This case study describes the use of a management process and assessment tool that can help to promote long-term IT-business strategic alignment. The Strategic Alignment Maturity (SAM) assessment (Luftman, 2000) is used as a framework to demonstrate the evolution of an international specialty chemicals manufacturer's IT-business alignment practices to enable the achievement of their corporate goals. Major insights from their experience and SAM best practices are highlighted.