What is the primary purpose of an IT governance framework?

The primary purpose of an IT governance framework is to provide a structured approach for managing IT resources and aligning them with the overall business strategies of an organization. This alignment is crucial because it ensures that IT initiatives support the organization's objectives, maximize return on investment, and help in achieving key business outcomes. A well-implemented governance framework also facilitates decision-making by establishing clear roles, responsibilities, and processes, ensuring that IT efforts are coordinated and strategic rather than reactive or isolated.

Focusing solely on minimizing IT budgets or enforcing strict compliance may not necessarily lead to successful alignment of IT with business strategies. While managing costs and compliance are important aspects of governance, they are secondary to the overarching goal of harmonizing IT with the enterprise's strategic vision. Similarly, simply increasing the number of IT projects without a strategic alignment could lead to resource wastage and missed opportunities, rather than effective and impactful IT governance.