Series: CIO - A Year In Preview

Series: CIO - A Year In Preview
Submitted by Stuart Millar, Partner at Negenit, Consulting Without Boundaries

Lets all agree 2009 was a challenging year. But that year has now passed and it is time to look forward and prepare our businesses for better times. We must not, however, forget the lessons that the down-turn so sharply taught us.

Saying we will revitalize our business is a little like embarking on New Year Resolutions – great intentions but usually, very poor execution. We have observed that friends who have had the most success with the top three resolutions – loose weight, stop smoking and get fit – all did it with the help of third-party support, someone who mentored, directed and coached them throughout the process. Success with resolutions includes commitment, a plan, a change of attitude, changed actions, patience, help, and persistence.

The task of creating, developing and implementing a strategy is daunting. What are the steps that need to be taken; what are the pitfalls and traps to avoid and what insight is needed to ensure the strategy that is created is actually implemented. Time and time again the intentions of both creating a strategy and then implementing the plan can be loss to the fact that most originations to do not have the skill set to fully understand the mechanics of following a set of simple rules. In other words, one must seek to understand first before they can plan. And once the plan have been created the vale is only good as the implementation.

Over the next year I going to show the actions you will need to take to revitalize your business and ensure you are using the most appropriate technology and services. Each month I will expand on the specific topic outlining the tasks that need to be completed, the deliverables you will need to progress and any options that you need to consider.

February – Determining the Business Goals. Shaking the dust off the business strategy and revising the business plans. The IT function should use this time to assess its current infrastructure, processes and services.

March – Setting the Technology Strategy. Once the business units have established their goals and requirements the IT function can determine the most appropriate technology to support the business units and together they can build a solid business case to proceed.

April – Alternative Service Delivery. Outsourcing is fast becoming a key component of modern business philosophy. It no longer applies just to information technology but to all “white collar” services and functions. It is being embraced by governments the world over to involve the private sector in the provision of public services. In the private sector it is seen as the way to focus on core competencies.

May – Acquiring the Solution. Business units, IT, Finance and Purchasing will have to work together to ensure the appropriate solution is acquired at the most favourable terms.

June – Implementation. Depending upon the complexity of the required solution, implementation may be a large project that covers many weeks and requires significant resources with specific skills and experience.

July – DRP and BCP. As the business will become very dependent upon the technology and critical operational processes, it is important to develop and implement appropriate Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans.

August – Operational Measurement. Now you have the necessary infrastructure and it is supporting the business units it is time to measure the success of both the solution and its users.

September – Project Management – Lessons Learned. After any large project it is important to bring together all parties and review, as a group, what went well and what could have been improved upon. It is the lessons learned that make subsequent projects more successful.

October – Change Management and the Management of Change. No solution continues without requiring some degree of fine tuning and change; it is important to have a process in place to facilitate and manage such changes. It is equally important to ensure that any changes in corporate direction, operational process or use of technology are well communicated throughout the organization and to its customers; and, appropriate effort and resources are assigned to training internal and external users.

November – Planning and Budgeting. Now is the time to begin thinking of the next business cycle and to develop meaningful operation budgets for the ongoing success of the new solutions.

December – A year in Review. Time to sit back and spend a little time reflecting on all of the hard work we have invested and what we have accomplished throughout 2010.

Business transformation is about change, it is about delivering value but it is also about implementation. Over the next year I will show how removing the barriers and simplifying the process to develop the plan; acquire and implement the correct solution; and, to measure success thereby leading to ongoing savings and value. I welcome and encourage your comments and experience, together let’s not make let this year’s New Year Resolutions disappear like everyone else’s.

By: Stuart Millar
Partner at Negenit Corp. (Outsourcing, Project Management, IT Strategy and Telecommunication)