McKinsey on Business Technology

Why business needs should shape IT architecture
Complexity is rife in any growing business. As companies innovate, add new business lines and products, or expand their international presence, processes proliferate, and the discipline around them can go out the window. Meanwhile, the IT that underpins these processes can also become more entangled as aging legacy systems jostle with new applications to support the needs of the business. Over time, this kind of complexity can unravel technology standards and undermine the coherence of the architectural blueprint. As application volumes grow in response to a fast-changing economic, regulatory, and business environment, the issue of complexity is becoming acute for many organizations. Enterprise architecture management (EAM), a framework to manage IT architecture and ensure that both the business and IT are well aligned, aims to restore order to this landscape. Download

Overhauling Banks' IT Systems
Core banking systems dating from the 1970s are compromising bank performance. However, updating them is becoming less costly and risky. Download

Tackling IT Complexity in Product Design
As more products are loaded with technology, tangled IT designs can undermine product strategies. Product managers and technical specialists need a better game plan. Download

The Internet of Things
More objects are becoming embedded with sensors and gaining the ability to communicate. The resulting information networks promise to create new business models, improve business processes, and reduce costs and risks. Download

Managing IT Transformation on a Global Scale: An Interview with Shell CIO Alan Matula
Over the last decade, Shell has been undergoing an IT transformation that is remarkable for the scope of change it is seeking in one of the world's largest and most complex organizations - one with 25 business portfolios and operations across more than 100 nations. The transformation is defined by four phases, says Alan Matula, executive vice president and group CIO. Download