Business professionals and IT see things differently. Some say they each speak their own language. Priorities are often different. 

Here’s an example. In Gartner’s CIO Survey 2012, the technology priorities of CIOs were revealed. In order, they are:
1. Analytics and Business Intelligence
2. Mobile Technologies
3. Cloud Computing
4. Collaboration
5. Virtualization

Ask a business executive or other organizational leader outside of IT, and their list of priorities will seem entirely different. Think: customer experience, social media, speed to market, product innovation, and the list goes on. In a 2012 Gartner-Forbes survey, the  top priorities of enterprise business are:
1. Focus on core competencies
2. Sustain the company’s competitive advantage
3.Innovate
4. Instill a customer-centric approach to business

The same survey revealed that investing in IT was the best way to achieve these priorities.  That’s good news for IT and business.

This is the great opportunity. It is in this intersection of IT and business where the magic happens. It is here where innovation can fully be realized. It is here where competitive differentiators are made. It is here where true collaboration propels the business forward. 

You simply can’t have one without the other. IT and business people may seem to operate in different spheres,  but eventually they come together and do great things. And that’s the point.