Jason Hiner has posted a blog entry talking about business-IT alignment as being a concept behind the times. He argues that if a company is working on business-IT alignment they have already lost the battle. The main thrust of his entry is that business-IT alignment carries a certain implied separation of IT from the rest of the business. If two things are thought of as being one, then there is nothing to align. He believes that integration of IT into the business is separate from business-IT alignment.

The problem, I believe, is that his assessment of business-IT alignment is only a disagreement in nomenclature. If "alignment" were not part of the phrase and was instead "business-IT integration," then I think Jason would have no problem with its use. His three tips for improving integration are almost perfectly aligned (Ha!) with Luftman, Papp, and Brier's enablers and inhibitors of business-IT alignment. If an organization is needing to work on these things, I would argue that they do not have the best business-IT alignment.

1. Hire a CIO who has business savvy but can also gain the respect of the techies in the IT department
One of the enablers of business-IT alignment is an understanding of the business. If a CIO comes into the organization without understanding the business or at least business in general, he or she is not going to be able to create strategic integration of IT and the business. Getting the respect of the techies requires leadership, another enabler of business-IT alignment.

2. Improve IT awareness/training among executives and team leaders throughout the business
Senior executive support of IT and close relationships between business and IT are key aspects of good business-IT alignment. Getting IT involved with strategic planning and development is also an enabler of business-IT alignment. All of these things might involve improving IT awareness and knowledge among executives and business leaders.

3. Improve business awareness/training among the company’s IT managers
This goes back to IT understanding the business. If you have the most business-savvy CIO or leader of IT without there being any understanding down to the lower levels of the IT organization, then you are not going to have good business-IT alignment. The CIO can't be there to hold the hands of the IT staff to help them understand the business background for every project or every problem. You need to have IT staff scattered throughout or even in every position to get the most business-IT alignment.

Besides a difference in nomenclature, I believe that the real issue here is operational IT vs. strategic IT. Not every organization is going to want to or be capable of making IT tightly integrated with the organization. Some organizations are really going to want IT to focus on keeping the lights on rather than being a center of innovation for the company's products and services, both internal and external. If a company is really struggling with business-IT alignment, maybe that organization is better suited for operational use of IT. On the other hand, if IT comes easily and business-IT alignment does not take continuous heroic effort, then integrated, strategic IT is the way to go.