What is IT governance primarily concerned with?

IT governance is fundamentally centered around the leadership frameworks and processes that ensure that an organization's IT strategy aligns with and supports its overall business objectives. It involves establishing policies, accountability structures, and performance measures that guide the effective and efficient use of IT. This alignment is crucial for ensuring that technology investments contribute positively to achieving business goals, enhancing performance, managing risks, and optimizing resource utilization.

The focus on ensuring that IT not only supports but also drives business strategy underlines the importance of governance in maximizing the value derived from IT investments. By setting out clear guidance and oversight, organizations can better manage their IT resources to adapt to changing market conditions and business needs.

Understanding IT governance in this way highlights its strategic role in the broader context of organizational management and success, distinguishing it from aspects like the technical details of hardware specifications, cost management of IT operations, or purely the software development lifecycle. While those areas may be important in their own right, they do not capture the overarching purpose of IT governance.