“Too many organizations let technology dictate transformation. The real key? Aligning IT with business needs first.” This principle defines the philosophy of Gary C. Crisci, a transformational IT executive with over two decades of experience at the intersection of business and technology. For organizations striving for operational excellence and scalable growth, aligning IT with business objectives isn’t just important—it’s essential.
With a career spanning healthcare, financial services, and global enterprises, Crisci brings a unique approach to digital transformation. By blending technical expertise with deep business insight, he enables organizations to modernize with purpose, optimize operations, and position themselves for long-term success.
Business First, Technology Second
Crisci’s unconventional career path—starting in finance before transitioning into IT—uniquely shaped his perspective on digital transformation. His early roles in finance, treasury, and business analytics gave him a deep understanding of how businesses operate and what they need to succeed. This business-first mindset remains at the core of his approach to transformation.
“IT needs to evolve and get closer to the business,” Crisci explains. “Too often, technology teams focus on building solutions without fully understanding the business process they’re trying to support. The key is to first understand the capability—what the business does—then apply technology to optimize how it’s done.”
By mapping business capabilities to technology solutions, organizations can prioritize standardization, minimize technical debt, and improve operational efficiency. Crisci highlights another advantage: “Streamlining the organization’s technology footprint also enables businesses to adapt more quickly to market changes and emerging technologies.”
Guiding Principles for Aligning IT with Business Objectives
Crisci’s approach to digital transformation is built on three core principles:
- Understand the Business Architecture – Start with business processes. Align technology solutions to optimize operations, rather than forcing technology onto the business.
- Rationalize the Technology Portfolio – Group applications by business capability to uncover redundancies, consolidate vendors, and standardize technologies—reducing complexity and cost.
- Bridge Business and IT Silos – Strengthen collaboration. Empower business users to take ownership of their applications, while IT provides governance, security, and strategic oversight.
By following these principles, organizations enhance efficiency, streamline decision-making, and stay agile in a rapidly evolving market.
Transforming IT: The GE Healthcare Divestiture as Case Study
Managing IT ecosystems in a large enterprise undergoing divestiture requires precision, speed, and strategic execution. For GE Healthcare, the priority was clear: successfully migrate 1,500 business applications to a new infrastructure within 18 months to meet TSA exit deadlines and avoid costly penalties.
“Divestitures are high-stakes events,” Crisci explains. “Our focus was ensuring a smooth transition to our own infrastructure before TSA deadlines—without disrupting critical business operations.”
This meant executing a complex migration effort with a focus on efficiency and risk mitigation. Along the way, optimizations were made where feasible, ensuring the technology landscape supported future growth while keeping business continuity at the forefront.
“You don’t get unlimited time to rethink everything in a divestiture,” Crisci notes. “The key is to execute with precision—getting it done right, on time, and with minimal disruption.”
This approach underscores a fundamental truth in IT transformation: strategy must be dictated by business needs. “Technology should always support business objectives,” Crisci says. “In this case, the objective was clear—exiting TSAs efficiently while ensuring the organization was well-positioned for the future.”
Bridging Business and IT Silos
One of the biggest obstacles to transformation is the disconnect between IT and the business. Too often, IT operates independently from the business functions it supports, leading to misalignment and inefficiencies. A key driver of Crisci’s success is his ability to foster collaboration between business and IT teams—breaking down these silos to improve outcomes.
“The more we push the work closer to where it’s being done, the better the results,” Crisci explains. “Business teams need to take ownership of the applications they use, while IT provides the necessary guardrails, security, and governance.”
This shared responsibility model not only enhances accountability but also accelerates adoption and improves long-term success. “Effective communication and early buy-in are often the missing links in digital transformation,” Crisci notes. His background in Organizational Communication has reinforced the critical role of negotiation and conflict resolution in driving successful change.
Driving Digital Transformation with Data and Objectivity
Crisci emphasizes the power of data and objectivity in overcoming resistance to change. Employees often become attached to familiar tools and processes, making transformation efforts difficult to implement. Without clear, data-backed insights, decisions are often driven by instinct rather than facts.
“In the absence of good information, people rely on instinct and emotion,” Crisci explains. “The way to overcome that is by telling a story with data—showing where we are today, where we want to go, and how technology can help us get there.”
By leveraging data-driven insights alongside sound architecture principles, organizations can cut through uncertainty, drive informed decision-making, and ensure that transformation efforts remain focused on business outcomes.
A Vision for the Future
As businesses continue to navigate the accelerating pace of technological change, Crisci remains a steadfast advocate for aligning IT with business objectives. “IT needs to move closer to the business, and the business must be strategic in how IT investments are made,” Crisci says.
He emphasizes, “Companies waste time and money customizing technology for standard back-office functions like payroll and accounts payable—areas with no competitive advantage. Industry-standard tools should be leveraged to reduce cost and improve efficiency. The real investment should focus on revenue-generating capabilities, where proprietary solutions drive differentiation. IT and the business must work together to balance foundational needs with strategic innovation.”
Striking this balance requires a thoughtful blend of standardization and innovation—two seemingly opposing forces that, when harmonized, drive meaningful transformation. “When you get that balance right, digital transformation becomes not just possible, but inevitable.”
Explore more insights on business transformation and digital strategy at www.garycrisci.com.
