Information Technology Governance in Colombian Small and Medium Companies: An Exploratory Study Using Data Analysis

Abstract

Information Technology (IT) is a resource for achieving strategic business objectives. However, many Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME's) do not consider IT a strategic area. This article explores the perception of IT governance in Colombia among IT professionals. It presents the design, data analysis, and results of a survey based on the Governance of Enterprise IT framework. The survey was conducted in 2019 and 2020, obtaining responses from 151 IT professionals that worked in 48 SME's and 90 from large companies. Data were analyzed with WEKA and KNIME, applying classification, segmentation, and association techniques. Results indicate that: (1) SME's associate IT investment with the generation and improvement of products and services; (2) employees' and users' performance is higher when they work in companies with managers that have a high commitment to IT governance; and (3) 95% of companies with high implementation levels of IT governance consider IT very important in their strategies.