Abstract:
The alignment of Information Systems (IS) with business processes in organisations is a dynamic state whereby an organisation uses Information Technology in order to achieve business objectives. The alignment of IT exists when goals, activities and processes of a business are in harmony with the Information Systems which are supporting them. The lack of IT strategic alignment in organisations lead to poor IT Return on Investment (ROI), inefficient operations due to poor performance that impact the organization’s competitive advantage.
Studies on Information Systems Alignment have merely focused on the alignment between Business and Information System Strategy. Very few studies have studied this alignment in Small and Medium Enterprises to investigate what impact the alignment has with the business performance.
The purpose of this study is to measure the alignment between Information system and the business strategy in Small and Medium Enterprises and to investigate the impact of this alignment on the business performance. A model was used to measure the alignment between Business and Information System Strategy and its impact on the business performance. Data was collected through the use of a questionnaire. A sample of ninety-nine (99) individuals from a variety of SMEs was used. SPSS was used to analyse the data.
The results showed the variables of the model were all positively correlated to one another. Therefore, alignment of Information Systems (IS) and Business Strategy was confirmed. The influence of the alignment was found to have a positive influence (0.459) on the overall performance of the business.
In conclusion, it is imperative for SMEs to align Information Systems (IS) and Business Strategy in order to increase the overall performance of their businesses.
Description:
M. Tech. (Department of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences), Vaal University of Technology.
