For example, it is no longer advisable to use a paper-based payroll, as apart from being more likely to become subject to fraud, it is an environmental hazard. Imagine the filing needs for a payroll for 100 people in one year only. Also, there's the consideration that almost everyone has and uses email. Electronic mail enables immediate correspondence between separate entities and quicker responses to urgent matters. More than this, integrating IT into strategic planning provides consistency in quality and ability to create a system of resource-based theories (RBT). According to a study by Mario Caldeira, Paul Cragg and John Ward on Information System Competencies in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: "Resource-based theory (RBT) has been developed to explain how organizations can achieve competitive advantage. This theory focuses on the idea of costly-to-copy attributes of the firm as an essential way to achieve superior performance. According to resource-based theory, resources that are valuable, cannot be easily purchased, require a long learning process or are the result of the corporate culture, are more likely to be unique to the enterprise and difficult to imitate by its competitors. Competitive advantage occurs when there are different resources across firms and differentials in firms' performance depend on having a set of unique resources."

IT's role in securing the business system is vital and should be taken into serious consideration when creating the over-all, long-term...

In fact, Caldeira, Cragg and Ward provided an outline on how to formulate a business strategy with IT, beginning with the following:
1. Formulate Strategy

1.1 Business strategy

1.2 Technology innovation

1.3 Investment criteria

1.4 Information governance

Ensure that business strategy formulation identifies the most advantageous uses of information, systems and technology. Incorporate the potential of new and emerging technologies in long-term business development. Establish appropriate criteria for decision making on investment in information, systems and technology. Define information management policies for the organization and the roles and responsibilities of general management and the IS/IT function.

III. Conclusion

There remains much to be said in defining how integrating IT into long-term corporate strategic planning will benefit a company, but the point has already been established. Any present-day corporate strategy that fails to incorporate IT goals and objectives into their corporate system is bound to fail and fail miserably. IT is the nerves from which flows the life-blood of any respectable company. IT cannot be ignored.

Bibliography:

Caldeira, Mario; Cragg, Paul and Ward, John. "Information System Competencies in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises" Retrieved November 13, 2006 from www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/research/documents/Paper_UKAIS_Final.pdf