If asked for my own personal view for the priorities for a typical IT department for medium to large organization to focus on for 2014 [it is now Q3\2013], without regard to any specific area or industry;
[Revised, Q3/2014]
I would answer:
1) Measuring and monitoring IT performance.
[This should cover both staffing and activities. Moreover, this should have already been established; however, but the metrics for measuring have to be updated on annual basis due to the changes in the priorities themselves.]
2) Business Intelligence.
[Its value is very clear as the tools have evolved so much over the last 10 years, and making best use of these tools is a quick win.]
3) H\W Virtualization.
[To make sure that no H\W servers still exist, and when done, the reporting and logging needs to be optimized to minimize the overhead and to maximize the insight into the machines operations.]
4) Agile development.
[No more time or resources to waste on a classical S\W development model within an IT department.]
5) Cloud computing.
[Seeking a hybrid approach, private and public]
6) Security Management and privacy.
[It is always among my priorities, the only weapon here is that knowledge within this area has to be always up-to-date]
7) Information Assets Management.
[$ missed here are usually more than one can imagine, especially with the ubiquitous of small and handheld devices. These assets must be probably managed and maintained]
8) Project Management Office.
[Strengthening the project management capacity can greatly improve all of the rest but with different ratios.]
9) Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery.
[The value of the investments here is only considered a value in the worst situations!]
10) Training.
[Being at the end of the list of priorities should not be read as not that important, but rather should be read as one of the priorities. It is only at the very bottom, since it is a recommended common practice to do first things first.]
References for opinions on that same topic for 2013:
http://www.protiviti.com/en-US/Documents/Surveys/2013-IT-Priorities-Survey-Protiviti.pdf
http://www.computerweekly.com/guides/IT-priorities-survey-2013
N.B.
I might update my list based on feedback.
[Revised, Q3/2014]
I would answer:
1) Measuring and monitoring IT performance.
[This should cover both staffing and activities. Moreover, this should have already been established; however, but the metrics for measuring have to be updated on annual basis due to the changes in the priorities themselves.]
2) Business Intelligence.
[Its value is very clear as the tools have evolved so much over the last 10 years, and making best use of these tools is a quick win.]
3) H\W Virtualization.
[To make sure that no H\W servers still exist, and when done, the reporting and logging needs to be optimized to minimize the overhead and to maximize the insight into the machines operations.]
4) Agile development.
[No more time or resources to waste on a classical S\W development model within an IT department.]
5) Cloud computing.
[Seeking a hybrid approach, private and public]
6) Security Management and privacy.
[It is always among my priorities, the only weapon here is that knowledge within this area has to be always up-to-date]
7) Information Assets Management.
[$ missed here are usually more than one can imagine, especially with the ubiquitous of small and handheld devices. These assets must be probably managed and maintained]
8) Project Management Office.
[Strengthening the project management capacity can greatly improve all of the rest but with different ratios.]
9) Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery.
[The value of the investments here is only considered a value in the worst situations!]
10) Training.
[Being at the end of the list of priorities should not be read as not that important, but rather should be read as one of the priorities. It is only at the very bottom, since it is a recommended common practice to do first things first.]
References for opinions on that same topic for 2013:
http://www.protiviti.com/en-US/Documents/Surveys/2013-IT-Priorities-Survey-Protiviti.pdf
http://www.computerweekly.com/guides/IT-priorities-survey-2013
N.B.
I might update my list based on feedback.
