In the first newsletter of 2007 we would like to emphasize the importance of developing achievable and practical IT strategy, aligned with your business goals. Setting such strategy in place means being already half way towards its successful implementation. This, in turn, will propel your company's profits, cut expenses and provide measurable insight into your business processes for you and your team.

Last week "Orange County Register" dedicated its full cover page of "Money" section to CyberianSoft as one of the experts of the successful technology planning and implementation. You can access and read the article at www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/homepage/article_1551824.php

Besides the featured success story, you will find out more about CyberianSoft and its background.

Today we bring to your attention a few articles presenting benefits, pitfalls, best approaches and best practices of aligning IT and business strategies.

The ROI of Alignment
By Allan Holmes
Sure, good alignment with the business is important, but does it translate into real dollars? Piles of them, according to "The State of the CIO" data.

Realizing Business Value Through Performance Management Scenarios
By Microsoft Corporation
Performance management solutions built on Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities offer the tools that employees at all levels can use to make informed business decisions. When these decisions are aligned with your overall company strategy, you can increase business performance and achieve value-driven results. The following solutions can help your organization achieve first-rate business performance management.

Eight Great Tips for Reducing IT Costs
By Rich Freeman
If you have to cut costs, try some of these money-saving suggestions from technology industry analysts and executives.

In the following case studies, various companies share their experience of implementing technology solutions customized specifically for their business challenges.

Banks steer through a maze of customer interactions: Business Process Management takes the wheel
By Guillermo Kopp
Given that self-service channels typically cost between one and two orders of magnitude less than attended branch services, banks have been employing electronic service delivery technologies aggressively for the past 20 years...

Virgin Entertainment Group Uses Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies to Boost Sales and Reduce Operational Costs
By Microsoft Corporation
Virgin Entertainment Group operates 23 Virgin Megastores in the United States and North America, as well as stores throughout Europe and Japan. Virgin Entertainment needed a more efficient and cost-effective communication solution linking corporate headquarters with its regional stores. To address this need, Virgin and Xavor, a Microsoft partner, created a corporate information portal and collaborative team sites using Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies. This solution is helping its 1,500 employees find and analyze relevant information across the enterprise so they can fully leverage the knowledge that exists within their organization. The portal, based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003, will be the central source of daily information for all Virgin Entertainment employees.

Data management bedeviled detailer
By Colin Stewart
This article shows a great example of the introduction of high-tech processes in low-tech businesses.