Aligning technology and strategy

While often used interchangeably, these terms serve different purposes. A technology strategy defines how technology will support your overall business objectives and create competitive advantage. It answers "why" and "what" questions about technology investments. An IT roadmap is more tactical, outlining the specific timeline, resources, and steps for implementing the strategy. At Acquis, we align these elements, beginning with a clear technology strategy that drives practical roadmap development focused on business outcomes.

We recommend reviewing your technology strategy annually, with a more comprehensive reassessment every 2-3 years or whenever significant business changes occur. Annual reviews help adjust for market changes and new platform capabilities while maintaining strategic direction. More thorough reassessments align with major business shifts like mergers, market expansions, or new product launches.

Key indicators include increasing shadow IT (departments purchasing their own solutions), rising technology costs without corresponding value, frequent user complaints about systems, difficulty obtaining accurate cross-functional data, or inability to implement new business initiatives due to technology limitations. You might also notice competitors gaining advantage through technology-enabled capabilities that your organization struggles to match. These signals suggest your current technology strategy may no longer align with your business needs or market requirements.

Unlike traditional selection processes that focus primarily on feature comparisons, we begin by thoroughly understanding your business requirements and strategic objectives. We evaluate vendors against these criteria rather than generic checklists. Our consultants bring platform-specific expertise that helps identify which capabilities will truly matter for your unique needs. We also consider factors beyond features — including implementation complexity, integration requirements, support models, and total cost of ownership. This business-first approach results in selections that deliver sustainable value rather than short-term feature advantages.

Technology strategy and change management are deeply interconnected. Even the best technology strategy will fail without effective change management to drive adoption. We integrate change considerations directly into our strategy development process, identifying potential adoption challenges and organizational impacts early. This allows us to develop strategies that balance technical excellence with organizational readiness. For implementation phases, we provide comprehensive change management services that build on the groundwork laid during strategy development so that technology investments achieve their intended business outcomes.