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3 - IT Department Organization Structure

The document describes the typical organizational structure of an IT department, outlining the main roles and responsibilities. It discusses six common divisions: core infrastructure services, support services, applications specialists, base technology specialists, architects, and strategic business partners. Some potential issues with IT organizational design are also outlined, including confused accountability, de-motivated staff due to a lack of control over their work, a lack of teamwork between divisions, and fragmentation when groups focus only on their own work without regard to broader integration or standards.

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Gurpreet Bansal
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314 views5 pages

3 - IT Department Organization Structure

The document describes the typical organizational structure of an IT department, outlining the main roles and responsibilities. It discusses six common divisions: core infrastructure services, support services, applications specialists, base technology specialists, architects, and strategic business partners. Some potential issues with IT organizational design are also outlined, including confused accountability, de-motivated staff due to a lack of control over their work, a lack of teamwork between divisions, and fragmentation when groups focus only on their own work without regard to broader integration or standards.

Uploaded by

Gurpreet Bansal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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IT Department Organization Structure


The Organizational Design of an Information Technology (IT) Department:
Definitions, Roles & Responsibilities

Information Technology (IT)


An Information Technology, or IT, Department develops, manages and maintains an
organization's technology-related assets (hardware, software, systems, etc.), policies,
procedures and systems. This includes, but is not limited to, the administration of company
email systems, business intelligence and enterprise resource planning [ERP] platforms, network
setup, data backup and retrieval and document storage. The group also provides employees
with day-to-day technology support to ensure that technology-related problems do not
interfere with their work.
Common Information Technology (IT) job titles: Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief
Technology Officer (CTO)
Application Development
The Application Development Group defines application architecture and develops programs
and systems to meet business needs/requirements that are defined by the systems analysis
team (through interviews with end users and stakeholders). They use research and user testing
to fine tune applications to meet specific, detailed use cases.
Common Application Development job titles: Systems Analyst, Business Analyst, Systems
Engineer, Application Developer
Application Management
Application management refers to the ongoing support (for users and infrastructure) of existing
company systems, such as ERP or CRM software. Tasks carried out by the Application
Management team include bug fixes, patches, minimal enhancements (typically 2 weeks or
less), code refactoring, etc. This group may also be responsible for maintaining infrastructure
(servers, storage, memory, etc.) related to company systems.
Common Application Management job titles: Application Developer, Quality Assurance
Engineer, IT Application Analyst
Business Intelligence (BI)
The Business Intelligence (BI) Group designs and develops databases and applications that pool,
extract and analyze large amounts of data to provide management with insights on the overall
performance of the organization as well as information on markets and competitors. They use
tools like SAP, Oracle and plain SQL databases to manage company data and produce reports.
The BI Group works with management to create dashboards and develop data collection
methods. "Big Data" technologies, such as Hadoop, are gaining popularity in the enterprise
community due to their ability to quickly analyze large, unstructured data sets.
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Common Business Intelligence (BI) job titles: Business Intelligence Developer, Data Warehouse
Manager, Data Analyst
IT Management & Administration
The IT Management and Adminstration function oversees IT initiatives to ensure that all
technology-related projects run smoothly and align with overall company strategy. They
perform strategic planning and recommend courses of action for technology-related
improvements. The group creates schedules, defines the scope and budget (usual project
management tasks) and oversees IT projects from end to end.
Common IT Management & Administration job titles: Business Analyst, Systems Analyst,
Enterprise Architect, IT Project Manager
IT Procurement
The IT Procurement function manages the purchasing of technology-related assets and analyzes
the point at which hardware/software should be replaced, based on total cost of ownership
(TCO) and capabilities/features. Nearly all information technology projects involve procurement
for hardware, software or services. A clear understanding of procurement contracts and vendor
requirements, therefore, are important but often forgotten requirements for IT departments.
Common IT Procurement job titles: Purchasing Agent, Procurement Officer, Procurement
Specialist
IT Security
The IT Security Group is responsible for defining, communicating and enforcing technology-
related policies, standards and procedures. They are tasked with mitigating risk related to
internal and external data breaches and cyber attacks. IT Security teams also work to develop
security incident management plans and ensure that all technology-related projects meet
defined security requirements. Robust system and network security is especially vital in
industries such as banking, consumer finance and insurance, where large amounts of private
data (social security numbers, bank account information, etc.) reside in company systems.
Common IT Security job titles: Cybersecurity Analyst, Information Security Analyst, Information
Security Engineer
Network Adminstration
The IT Network Administration Group manages the company's technology 'backbone' – its data
centers and networks. They plan, design, implement and maintain server configurations,
routing protocols, network configurations and storage environments to facilitate the needs of
the organization. They also configure server backups, monitor network use statistics and loads,
and implement contingency plans to minimize network and system downtime. The network
administration team also works closely with the IT Security Group to ensure that company
servers and networks meet or exceed established security requirements.
Common Network Adminstration job titles: Network Engineer, Network Administrator,
Systems Administrator
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Systems Analyst & Architecture


The Systems Analysis Group works with end users, business unit managers and customers to
understand business needs and develop requirements and specifications for systems and
applications. Systems analysts act as intermediaries between technical developers (see
application development & support) and end users in hopes of aligning business needs with
system design and usability. Activities commonly performed by the Systems Analysis Group
include use case development, business process mapping & design, end user/stakeholder
interviews, and system modeling (UML, SysML, etc.).
Common Systems Analyst & Architecture job titles: Business Analyst, Systems Analyst, Systems
Engineer
User Support & Services
The User Support and Services Group (commonly referred to as IT Support or Tech Support)
provides technology assistance to internal customers (the company's employees). They set up
hardware and software, troubleshoot technical issues and perform root cause analysis to
reduce instances of technical problems. In some cases, the Tech Support Group may also be
responsible for hardware and software procurement and asset management (licenses,
warranties, etc.). More advanaced, application-specific technology issues are typically handled
by the Application Management team (see above).
Common User Support & Services job titles: Technical Support Specialist, IT Support
Administrator, Desktop Support Specialist/Analyst

DESIGN ISSUES WITH IT ORGANISATION

There are six building blocks in IT organisation design

1. Core infrastructure services own and operate the information systems for use by others.
They include the data centre, network operations, telecommunications, storage, and printing
services. This function is delivered by shared services.

2. Support services provide routine services that are performed by people that includes
the service desk, installation and repair, procurement (purchasing) and administration plus
other services that help the other functions deliver IT products to the business. This function is
also delivered by shared services.

3. Applications specialists design, procure, build and maintain data-specific software for
transactional processing. They include most systems analysts and programmers. This function is
delivered by centres of excellence.

4. Base technology specialists design, procure, build and maintain all technologies other
than transaction-processing applications including systems software and hardware,
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telecommunications, software and information engineering, end-user computing, and


information disciplines. This function is delivered by the centres of excellence.

5. Architects facilitate agreement on standards and guidelines that allow technologists to


act independently in response to business needs and yet still progress toward architectural
integration. This function is also delivered by centres of excellence.

6. Strategic business partners are the primary relationship to the business. The business
partner works with business leaders to transform business strategies into information systems
requirements. This function is delivered through business partnering.

ISSUES / PROBLEMS in IT Information Design

• Confused accountability and territorial disputes – Unclear boundaries and


accountability lead to confusion and indecision. Time is spent unnecessarily to resolve internal
disputes. Managers spend time dealing with operational problems rather than leading their
teams or transformational work.

• De-motivated staff – When employees are not in control of their work they feel de-
motivated. If organisations place credence on organisational hierarchy instead of professional
competence the structure dis-empowers people, stifles creativity, and creates generalists.
Expertise is lost to the organisations because the only way to progress careers is to switch jobs
or move into management roles.

• A lack of teamwork – A lack of cooperation and tendency to pass the buck(not taking
responsibility because IT is someone else’s problem.) Teamwork often suffers when boundaries
overlap or are unclear. For example, where accountability is undefined and responsibility rests
with more than one team or function.

• Fragmentation or disintegration – In dysfunctional organisations people tend to focus


on their work without regard to the broader issues of standards or architectural integration.
Moreover, projects tend to dictate technological direction resulting in systems that are
disjointed and difficult to support.

• Mistrust – A reluctance to share information because the IT organisation serves its own
interests and not those of the business. This results in mistrust and a diminished place within
the organisation.

• A slow pace of innovation, outdated skills and technology – Managers should lead the
organisation toward continual improvement not get embroiled in day-to-day work. A successful
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organisation needs to innovateand develop. This is particularly true of the IT organisation


where there is an increasingly broad range of specialist disciplines involving the management of
information. Unfortunately, some organisations discourage continuing professional
development resulting in a loss of expertise and the creation of generalists. IT should be an
enabler for change but can be a source of resistance to change. What’s more, world class
organisations need experts!

In a nutshell, if IT organisation design is impeding the efforts of staff the ITorganisation needs
nothing less than total re-organisation.

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