Historically, board-level executives deferred key IT decisions to the company's IT management and business leaders.
Short-term goals of those responsible for managing IT can conflict with the best interests of other stakeholders unless proper oversight is established.
IT governance systematically involves everyone: board members, executive management, staff, customers, communities, investors and regulators.
The discipline of information technology governance first emerged in 1993 as a derivative of corporate governance and deals primarily with the connection between an organisation's strategic objectives, business goals and IT management within an organization.
This can be done through board-level direction, implementing an organizational structure with well-defined accountability for decisions that impact on the successful achievement of strategic objectives and institutionalizing good practices through organizing activities in processes with clearly defined process outcomes that can be linked to the organisation's strategic objectives.
ISO 38500 has helped clarify IT governance by describing a model to be used by company directors.
Researchers have contended that due to this lack of contributions, there should be better oversight from senior management.