IT executives have a crucial role to play in promoting operational excellence. Improvement requires visibility. Visibility requires data. And it is the IT function that knows whether the right data exists, where it can be found, and how it can be captured and presented to the people who can make a difference. IT may not actively participate in all aspects of operations. But without investment in IT resources and commitment from an organization's IT professionals, it is unlikely that any operational excellence initiative can succeed.

Of the 946 executives who participated in the 2008 Economist Intelligence Unit operational excellence survey sponsored by SAP, 182 (19%) come from the IT function. This paper-one of four function-specific papers-is based on the IT responses and follow-up interviews with technology executives. The other function-specific papers focus on operations, finance, and sales and marketing