In many organizations, a subtle but important question often goes unasked: Is your IT team working in alignment with your long-term goals—or are they more focused on protecting their own revenue streams?
This question cuts to the heart of how businesses think about IT today—not just as infrastructure support, but as a strategic partner (or not). The answer can reveal a lot about how technology is enabling—or limiting—your organization’s growth.
Why This Is a Strategic Concern for Business Leaders
Modern businesses rely heavily on technology for everything from daily operations to long-term innovation. But the model under which many IT departments and managed service providers (MSPs) operate hasn’t evolved at the same pace.
Consider the current landscape
- 81% of business leaders report falling short of their technology goals.
- 67% of financial executives say recent technology investments haven’t delivered as expected.
The disconnect often stems from misaligned incentives. When IT is seen as a vendor or utility rather than a partner, it’s not unusual for priorities to diverge.
Common Incentive Structures: Misalignment in Action
In traditional MSP or break-fix models, compensation is often tied to how many problems arise or how much time is spent resolving them. This inadvertently creates:
- A reactive support model, where issues are addressed only after they occur.
- Incentives to maintain complexity, as simplification can reduce billable hours.
- A dynamic where technical knowledge is siloed, reducing client independence.
These dynamics aren’t inherently malicious—but they can lead to a situation where IT becomes a cost center rather than a driver of innovation or competitive advantage.
Rethinking IT’s Role: Strategic, Transparent, Aligned
In response to this outdated model, some organizations are adopting a different approach—one where technology is closely tied to business goals from the outset.
This model is characterized by:
- Operational alignment: Technology decisions are made in context of the business strategy, not isolated technical requirements.
- Transparency: Expectations, limitations, and outcomes are discussed openly, reducing the chances of miscommunication.
- Proactivity: Instead of waiting for systems to fail, technology teams anticipate challenges and prepare solutions in advance.
The goal is to create a dynamic where IT is not just solving problems but helping to shape the future of the business.
Real-World Challenges That Call for Alignment
Many organizations face recurring frustrations that stem from deeper misalignments in their technology partnerships:
- Lack of visibility: Business leaders often don’t have a clear view of how IT investments are performing.
- Disjointed decision-making: IT initiatives may not be aligned with broader operational or customer experience goals.
- Over-dependence: Teams struggle with systems they don’t fully understand, and support cycles become endless.
When IT and business strategy are aligned, these challenges are addressed not with quick fixes but with foundational changes in how systems are selected, implemented, and supported.
What Aligned IT Looks Like in Practice
When incentives are properly aligned, several important shifts tend to happen:
Tangible Improvements
- Technology becomes more reliable, with fewer unplanned outages.
- Project delivery becomes faster and more efficient.
- Data is used more effectively to support decision-making.
Intangible Outcomes
- Teams feel more empowered, with systems that support their work rather than complicate it.
- Leadership has greater confidence in the value of tech investments.
- There’s a stronger sense of collaboration between IT and business functions.
In this context, IT evolves from a cost center into a capability that enhances performance across the organization.
Moving Forward: Questions to Ask Yourself
To evaluate whether your current IT structure is aligned with your success, consider:
- How is your IT provider or internal team measured?
- Are you seeing clear returns on your technology investments?
- Do you feel like IT is helping drive strategy—or reacting to problems?
- Is technical complexity adding value, or just increasing dependency?
If the answers suggest a misalignment, it may be time to re-examine the incentive structures at play—and look for opportunities to shift toward a more strategic model.
Conclusion
The core question is not about blame, but about awareness. It invites business leaders to critically evaluate the structures and relationships that shape how technology serves their organizations.
As digital transformation continues to accelerate, this alignment becomes more than a nice-to-have. It’s a prerequisite for resilience, innovation, and growth.
