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It’s a well-worn theme, yet raises its head again; new research from Claranet and Vanson Bourne argues that European businesses are suffering from a lack of understanding between the IT department and the rest of the organisation.

Just over a quarter (26%) of the 900 IT leaders polled – based in Benelux, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the UK – said they believe the wider business has total understanding of the role of the IT department. A similar number (28%) of IT departments think they meet all the needs of the wider business.

The research findings are the latest in a series issued by the managed hosting service provider. In April, the company revealed that almost half of IT leaders see their primary job as one of cost reduction. This time around, while the figures are up from 2015’s analysis (21% and 26% respectively), Claranet argues more needs to be done to change a familiar disposition.

“IT leaders have a key role to play in building understanding between their department and the wider business,” said Andy Wilton, Claranet CIO. “Those IT leaders who aren’t prioritising developing an understanding between IT and the business are harming their own career prospects and the prospects of their business.

“In order to better support the business, the IT team must focus more energy on the applications and data that are key to business success, and less on day to day technical management and infrastructure maintenance,” added Wilton. “These activities are a large part of the reason that the IT department is stuck in a reactive mode and prevent it from driving the wider business agenda.”

This may be easier said than done. Writing for this publication earlier this month Keith Tilley, EVP global sales and customer services management at Sungard Availability Services, put forward four key tenets to improve workflows for IT departments and drive change: seeking out the right skills; communicating clearly; securing adequate resources; and turning occasionally to colleagues outside of the IT department.