Overcoming challenges for managing IT innovations in non-IT companies

Information technology (IT) impacts almost every business unit inside the enterprise. However, the role of the IT organization as an enabler of growth and driver of business innovation is mostly ignored. In this paper we introduce six nonIT companies which asses IT innovations as important for their strategy and competitive advantage. Four companies already created formalized structures for managing IT innovations. We describe the reasons why companies have chosen to create those structures and which challenges they experienced. Furthermore, we reveal reasons why companies do not create formalized structures, although IT innovations are important for their business. As a result we propose measures how companies can overcome these challenges to manage IT innovations. Approaching these steps will not only lead to successful IT innovations and improved processes, it will also strengthen the perception of the IT organization as an innovative partner.