Partnering for Business Value: The Shared Management of the IS Infrastructure

It would be expensive indeed if every new information system required the selection and implementation of all the hardware, software, middleware and data the system required, from the ground up, as well as the selection and hiring of all the skilled individuals who would implement these components. Iliste:d, with soine advance planning, the equipmetil. software, data and skilled individuals already in place can often he used as a basis for subsequent applications, reducing their costs considerably. Building a leverageable base of information technology assets or what we call here the information system (IS) infrastructure may require business partner direction setting, championship, funding and. ultimately. use. Our objective is to develop a relevant, testable and valid theory relating to the question, How does the relationship between IS and clients influence the management of information system infrastructure and the business value gained from information systems? The approach we have adopted is to combine empirical data collected from a repeated visits field study with observations from previous literature. The units of analysis for our study are managetnent initiatives that modified the IS infrastructures at seven finns emd the IS-client relationships surrounding them. Some of these firms changed how their IS staffs were structured and others implemented client server applicadons. The IS-client relationships at the finns varied in terins of their formal structures a,id their coinmunication mechanisms. Diverse business outcomes were anticipated from the initiatives, with the structural changes directed mainly at improvements in productivity, flexibility or the overall quality of the IS staff, aid the cliew server initiatives focused on business process changes or worker productivity. Data was collected from both client and IS representatives in four visits over eighteen months, mostly through interviews, but also by observation mid by examination of archival data. The analysis of data was interleaved with data collection. By doing this, we gradually developed a Inodel liat describes how the responsibility for the IS infrastructure is shared between business professionals and their IS suppliers. This model identifies three leverageable IS assets: a technology infrastructure. the familiar set of tangible hardware. software and data assets: the /T sm# asset, the solnewhat less well understood set of expertise or know-how and willingness to work embodied in the IS work force; and what we now view as the relationship asset, the endowment of inutual trust. shared vision, colmnunication channels, and shared experiences that enable partnership between IS and their clients. We will present a set 01' hypotheses drawn from this model. 'This research was sponsored by the Advanced Practices Council of SIM International.