When the AITL wrote up its recommendations on the Mainframe Migration Assessment for the BSC*, it included a section on long-term strategy:

The Architecture and Infrastructure Committee (AIC) has proposed a joint task force between the BSC, AITL and AIC to work on the development of an Administrative Systems Master Plan [SITAC 9.1]. We concur with that proposal. However, before work on the technical aspects of the plan begins, the business leadership of the University needs to provide strategic direction by answering questions including but not limited to:

• Does the University view its ERP systems as a strategic advantage in advancing its mission?
• What is our institutional strategy for making buy vs. build decisions?
• What level of integration is desirable for our administrative systems?

Once driving factors such as these have been determined, selection of the most appropriate tools and technologies can proceed.

I wasn’t invited to the BSC meeting where this is discussed. All that the minutes say about the first question is:

As to the first question, the BSC was in full agreement that the University views its ERP systems as a strategic advantage in advancing its mission.

Well, today Adam posted a link to a great article, How Will You Measure Your Life? I’d like to highlight one particular paragraph:

A theory that is helpful … concerns how strategy is defined and implemented. Its primary insight is that a company’s strategy is determined by the types of initiatives that management invests in. If a company’s resource allocation process is not managed masterfully, what emerges from it can be very different from what management intended. Because companies’ decision-making systems are designed to steer investments to initiatives that offer the most tangible and immediate returns, companies shortchange investments in initiatives that are crucial to their long-term strategies.

In other words, just saying we consider our ERP strategic doesn’t mean anything if resources are not allocated accordingly. Frankly, when I look at what the University’s management has invested in over the past couple of years, I don’t get the impression that it sees a strategic advantage in our current ERP. A real strategy needs more than lip service.

*Full disclosure: I helped write this document.