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IT infrastructures have become increasingly complex as business processes rely more on applications and systems. With growing demand for IT services and technology implementations from the lines of business, there are more hardware, software and networking products to support.

Adding to the level of IT complexity is the growing need for electronic links between organizations and their customers and suppliers, as well as the ongoing push to mobile computing and communications. In addition, mergers and acquisitions have contributed to greater IT complexity.

Growing complexity can have negative effects on an organization. There’s generally a need for additional maintenance and support of systems and applications, and IT ends up devoting more time to keeping systems operating than to supporting strategic business initiatives. The increased demand for support can also lead to higher costs. Another drawback is that complexity can keep organizations from making optimum use of their IT investments.

It’s likely there will always be some complexity in IT, but organizations can take steps to reduce their level of complexity. “We see a trend toward simplification starting to emerge,” says Mike Gorsage, managing director in the IT performance improvement practice at consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. “We find a lot of people talking about rationalizing the portfolio of their IT environment” to avoid system redundancy and other problems that can lead to complexity, Gorsage says.

IT portfolio management, IT demand management, process automation and standards-based frameworks such as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) can all play a role in helping organizations manage complexity, Gorsage says. And many companies are looking to create an IT governance program that leverages these technologies and standards and sets firm policies about the purchase and use of technology throughout an organization.

“A lot of people are asking for help about how to form an effective IT governance structure,” Gorsage says. “It gets directly to the point of what kinds of technology we need and why we need [them]. What’s the business case? What are the criteria that say we need to add something or delete something?”

Gorsage says an IT governance team should include business and IT decision makers, and report to the CEO or COO. “We like to see the governance team chaired by [a senior business executive] but not by IT,” he says. This person would work in collaboration with the CIO to determine which technology investments and projects should be scrutinized by the governance team, based on certain criteria, Gorsage says. “If any project hits two or more strategic imperatives [or dollar thresholds], it would come to the governance committee for oversight,” he says.

The committee could then decide whether the investment meets the organization’s budget limitations and has a strong business case, and would calculate the expected return on investment. A governance committee could also help decide when it’s time to retire older legacy systems and determine whether they need to be replaced.

In addition to strong governance, organizations can continue to try to automate data centers and processes to manage complexity, Gorsage says. “There are lots of good tools now available [for data center automation],” he says. “They can help data centers run leaner.”

ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark, and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce, and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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