The Human Side of IT Strategy: Why People Matter More Than Platforms

Monday 9:00 AM: The CIO strides into the executive meeting, ready to showcase a recently deployed cutting-edge system. Instead, faces around the table are grim. The new technology investment isn’t delivering. It’s not because the tech failed; it’s because nobody is using it. The project that looked perfect on paper is now a cautionary tale, all due to one overlooked element: the human factor. 

In this June edition of IT Strategy Matters, we’re taking a step back from the shiny new tech and focusing on people. It’s easy to get enamoured with cloud solutions, AI integrations and transformative roadmaps. But at the end of the day, even the best IT strategy will fall flat without the buy-in, skills and culture of the people who carry it out and use the new systems. As the famous saying goes, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” In the context of IT strategy, that couldn’t be truer. Let’s explore the human side of IT strategy and how prioritising people can turn your next big tech initiative from a potential flop into a flourishing success. 

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast (Even IT Strategy) 

Every organisation has a culture: a unique blend of values, behaviours and unwritten rules that influence how work gets done. When planning IT strategy, it’s tempting to focus on the “what” (systems, architecture, processes) and assume the “who” will fall in line. In reality, culture can make or break your tech initiatives. Research backs this up: From a survey conducted by PWC, 67% of senior executives believe culture is more important to performance than strategy or operations. In other words, you can have the most brilliant IT roadmap, but if your organisational culture isn’t ready to embrace it, you may never see the results you hope for. 

Consider change initiatives like adopting a new collaboration platform or implementing an AI-driven tool. Such changes often require people to alter their daily habits and workflows. A culture that values flexibility, learning and innovation will smooth the way for adoption. Conversely, a culture of siloed teams or fear of failure can pose stealth obstacles. It’s no surprise that 72% of senior management say their culture helps successful change initiatives happen. A supportive culture greases the wheels of change. On the flip side, if employees sense that “this too shall pass” or mistrust leadership’s motives, even a well-funded project can quietly stagnate. 

Tip: Gauge your culture’s readiness for new IT initiatives. Engage with employees at all levels to understand their concerns and enthusiasm. Celebrate early adopters as heroes and showcase quick wins to build positive momentum. Remember, culture change doesn’t happen by decree; it happens by example and engagement. 

Bridging the IT-Business Divide 

One of the perennial people challenges in IT strategy is the classic disconnect between IT teams and business units. Crafting a strategy in isolation (an ivory-tower IT plan) is a recipe for misalignment. Successful IT strategy is, at its heart, business strategy. That means speaking the language of non-IT stakeholders, involving them and addressing their needs and fears. 

In many organisations, employees have witnessed “technology for technology’s sake”: initiatives that deploy new tools without a clear business context. The result? Confusion, resistance and poor uptake. In fact, a McKinsey report found that 70% of digital transformation efforts fail due to lack of user adoption and resistance to change. Think about that: in most cases, failure isn’t caused by the wrong technology at all, but by insufficient human adoption. If the sales team doesn’t use the new CRM, or analysts circumvent the official BI tool, the ROI vanishes. People revert to comfortable old habits unless we bridge the gap. 

So how do we bridge it? Communication is key. Rather than announcing a new system with only technical specs, frame it in terms of benefits and outcomes that resonate with each audience. For example, instead of “We’re deploying XYZ analytics platform with cluster computing,” say “We’re introducing a new analytics tool that will cut the time you spend pulling reports by 50%, giving you more time to act on the insights.” Tailor the message: executives care about strategic impact and ROI, managers about team productivity, front-line staff about daily ease of use. 

Additionally, invite business stakeholders into the strategy process. When department heads and end users help shape requirements or pilot a new tool, they become champions of the change rather than roadblocks. Cross-functional working groups, pilot programmes, and open forums (town halls, Q&As) can all turn scepticism into support. It’s much harder to say “no” to a strategy you had a hand in shaping. 

Tip: Tell the story of your IT strategy in plain language. Use narratives and examples that hit home for people in various roles. If you’re rolling out a new automation, illustrate how it might ease a day-in-the-life of an employee. Make it relatable. When people see how a technology change makes their work better or helps the company win, they’ll be far more eager to climb on board. 

Mind the Skills Gap: Investing in Your People 

Even with a great culture and clear communication, an IT strategy can stumble if people lack the skills to execute it. Today’s tech landscape moves fast. With cloud, cybersecurity, AI and data science evolving rapidly, skills can quickly become outdated. It’s telling that in a recent survey, 54% of CIOs cited staffing and talent shortages as a significant hurdle to meeting their objectives. You can’t implement a cutting-edge AI strategy without AI-savvy team members, and you can’t secure a digital enterprise without skilled cybersecurity professionals. The human side of strategy means investing in these human capabilities. 

Training and upskilling should be baked into your IT strategy roadmap. If you’re introducing a new platform or practice, allocate time and budget for structured training sessions, hands-on workshops and, perhaps most importantly, continuous learning. One-off training on launch day is rarely enough; consider certification programmes, online courses or a mentorship system where early experts coach others. 

Also, acknowledge that sometimes the needed skills might not exist in-house at first. This is where hiring and talent strategy intersects with IT strategy. Do you need to bring in new expertise, or can you develop it internally? Often, a blend of both works: hire a few key specialists and have them help upskill the existing team. Don’t overlook soft skills and leadership development either. The best IT strategists are often those who can influence and educate others, not just technically execute. 

Another aspect of the human side is retaining the talent you have. High turnover in IT can derail strategic initiatives; if your best people keep getting poached or burn out, continuity suffers. Thus, part of IT strategy is creating an environment where top talent wants to stay. That, of course, circles back to culture. People thrive where they feel valued and challenged, and where they see a growth path. An organisation that prioritises professional development will reap the rewards in successful strategy execution. 

Tip: Consider establishing a “Skills Radar” in your strategy plan: identify the critical skills needed 12, 24, 36 months out and craft a plan (train, hire, partner) to ensure you have them when required. Encourage a culture of learning. For example, set up knowledge-sharing lunches, hackathons or innovation days where teams can experiment with new tech in a low-risk setting. When learning is part of the culture, adaptation comes naturally. 

Leadership, Empathy and Change Management 

Implementing IT strategy is as much about leading people as it is about managing technology. Modern CIOs and IT leaders often find themselves wearing a Chief People Officer hat, driving cultural change, fostering collaboration and even easing anxieties about change. In fact, the evolving role of IT leadership now explicitly includes being a change agent: recent research highlights that today’s IT leaders are expected to shape enterprise strategy, enable growth, and lead cultural change. 

What does people-centric leadership look like in practice? Empathy is a good starting point. Put yourself in the shoes of those affected by a tech change. Acknowledge the discomfort and effort involved in changing one’s way of working. Leaders who listen to feedback and act on it earn trust. For example, if employees express that a new application is cumbersome, an empathetic response is to delve into that issue: Is it a training gap? A design flaw? Perhaps additional support or a tweak to the solution is needed. When people see their leaders responding to their struggles, resistance often turns into respect. 

Another critical leadership skill is communication. This means not just one-way “broadcasts”, but two-way dialogue. Regularly articulate the vision behind the IT strategy: not just what we are doing, but why we are doing it. At the same time, create channels for employees to voice questions and ideas. Some organisations appoint change champions or ambassadors, staff across departments who facilitate communication and feedback during major IT rollouts. These champions can be the empathetic bridge between the IT project team and all other staff, ensuring concerns are heard and successes are celebrated. 

Change management methodologies (like Prosci’s ADKAR model or Kotter’s eight steps) provide useful frameworks centring on human adoption. They remind us to build Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement when rolling out change. In plainer terms: explain why the change is needed, get people excited or at least agreeable to it, teach them how to do it, give them the tools to actually do it, and then reinforce the new way until it sticks. Skipping these soft steps is often where even technically brilliant projects stumble. 

Tip: Lead by example. If you want the organisation to embrace a new tool, champion it visibly yourself. For instance, if it’s a new collaboration platform, the leadership team should be among the most active users. When people see leaders walking the talk, it sends a powerful message that “we’re all in this together”. Also, don’t be afraid to share stories, including the tough ones. If a project faced challenges because the human element was overlooked, discussing it openly (and without blame) can educate the entire organisation on the importance of change management. 

Conclusion: People First, Technology Second 

The history of IT is rife with examples proving that technology alone rarely guarantees success. It’s the people who decide its fate. As you refine your IT strategies for the coming months and years, remember to put humans at the centre of your roadmap. Whether it’s cultivating a culture that embraces change, communicating across the aisle between IT and business, investing in skills and talent, or leading with empathy, these efforts pay off in tangible business results. 

When the people side is done right, you create an environment where new technologies are not only accepted, but enthusiastically leveraged to their full potential. Employees become partners in innovation rather than obstacles; executives see strategies turning into real outcomes. Indeed, organisations that nurture the human dimension of IT strategy are more agile, more resilient, and ultimately more successful in their digital endeavours. 

So, as you plan that next big tech initiative (be it a cloud migration, an AI deployment or a process overhaul), ask yourself: Have I accounted for the human side? Who will champion it? Who might fear it? How will we bring everyone along on the journey? By prioritising those questions, you’re far more likely to end up with a strategy that doesn’t just look good on paper, but works in practice because it’s powered by a workforce that understands it, supports it and knows how to make it shine. 

Until next time, remember: technology might be the brains of your strategy, but people are the heart. And a strategy with heart is one that beats strongly through challenges and change.

And IT Strategy Matters!