Having a successful business typically means your business is in constant flux; Continually monitoring and evolving to market conditions, while attempting to control your costs. As our businesses increasingly rely on technology, and those technology based resources consume a higher percentage of our internal costs, it is imperative that your business leadership is able to quickly evaluate the impacts of strategic decisions without having to wade through the deep waters of technical implementation details. 

Throughout my career I've encountered many businesses that have technical infrastructures that have grown beyond the organizations comprehension.  An ailment that is readily identified by a seemingly cat and mouse question and answer session that leaves both parties dissatisfied with the results. 

This is characterized by someone in a leadership position generally stating either of two equally meaning comments: 
      "I don't understand why it takes so long to get this accomplished." 
      "I don't understand why it is so expensive."
And unfortunately less than palatable response 
      "The business just doesn't understand how complex the system is."

With your leadership unable to associate business goals to technology resources, the business will either stagnate on technology, or improperly budget for technology resources.  Allowing your business to be stagnant ,because of there is fear of unknown technology impacts, will lead to missed market opportunities, and your competition to leapfrog.  But be cautious, a technology initiative without adequate budgeting is a recipe for disaster which wastes resources further making it difficult to compete in a challenging economy. 

Here are a few helpful tips to start bridging your business goals to your technology assets:
Diagram: Yes a picture is worth a thousand words, these are high level diagrams are where business process meets technology.  These are typically designed to be consumed by the non-technologists.   
Business focused: Your technology group should be business focused.  By understanding the business your technologists, will be more likely to understand the impact of their changes and more quickly identify potential roadblocks.    
Terminology: The consistency in the use of terminology and the knowledge of those terms.  Your technologists should learn the language of your business.

Beyond the previous items, some organizations may look to Enterprise Architects to further formalize continuity of technologies and how they support the businesses objectives.   

Having your technologists become familiar with your business, where they use the terminology of the business, and create high level diagrams that demonstrate the transition between business processes and technology implementation, your technologists will be better equipped to provide your leadership the needed information for business planning.