Critical success factors (CSFs) and the growth of IT in selected geographic regions

Phenomenal growth in information technology has made the job of the IT managers of enterprises extremely complex. In multinational corporations (MNCs) this is equally apparent. Quite often there are conflicting demands front the MNC's business units because the growth and maturity of their operations vary from one geographic region to another. A system that works effortlessly in one country may be a total failure in another. This is because the management in different geographic regions face different sets of IT issues. For an MNC to develop a robust and reliable global IT strategy it is important to understand the issues in the different geographic areas in which it operates. Once the issues are properly understood the management can take appropriate actions to achieve success. To identify the IT issues and measure their criticality in different geographic regions this paper extends the concept of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and the Stages Theory. By developing an understanding of the growth process for IT it would be possible to foresee what lies ahead which in turn will help in managing the issues properly and in developing a sound IT strategy. Using the CSFs approach and the Stages Theory this paper identifies the Critical Success Factors in the geographic regions of North America, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and India, and determines the growth of IT in these regions. It is found that the alignment of business and IT, and end user fulfilment are the two most critical success factors in all of these geographic regions, whereas outsourcing of IS is considered much less relevant by all the IT managers. Finally there are some other issues which are considered critical by organisations in some regions while they are considered less important in other regions. Notably among them are IT for competitive or significant advantage, Linking with external organisations, Integrating systems and Technical skills of IS staff. These conclusions are significant to the management of IT in international businesses, governments at various levels, and academic institutions.