IT Governance Frameworks and their Impact on Strategic Alignment in the South African Banking Industry

The success of any organization is not only based on its leadership, but also on how it is governed. For many years, corporate governance has been at the forefront of how efficient and effective day-to-day business operations are conducted. With information technology (IT) being integrated into many of the organizations that exist today, many businesses have adopted an IT governance strategy. IT governance has become critical in successful business operations. Many organizations implement IT governance to ensure that they align their IT strategy with the overall business goal. This alignment can help ensure that organizations are ahead of their competitors with respect to the industry in which they trade. In the private sector, adopting governance frameworks can aid in creating a defined structure within which to work. As technology has continued to evolve, the frameworks in IT governance have also done so over time. Having an IT governance framework in place can help organizations save costs, increase productivity and improve efficiency within operations. The banking industry in South Africa has been one of the key players in implementing governance over information and IT infrastructure. This is a critical analysis of existing trends and frameworks within the banking industry. In this paper, we discuss the COBIT and ITIL frameworks and the impact they have within the industry. The result of this paper is to illustrate the impact of IT governance frameworks within the banking industry with the correct guidelines and to recommend ways to improve the controls that are currently in place.