Skip to main content

IT Metrics - Innovation and IT (Innovation in everything we do)

Innovation is a key enabler for productivity but also for change management. Consequently Innovation is a matter of priority for IT organisations while driving change through technology.

IT has to become a major asset for organizations which are looking towards new business models, this independently where these organizations are located or which are their business models. For many years now IT organization worldwide has been focusing on major ERP transformation programmes and some so called Business Intelligence activities, most of them related to a pure 2nd level of management information.

The IT model I’m willing and ready to help you implementing in your companies is the one that uses Innovation as a strategic weapon for people development and mindset redefinition. Is nothing related with technology only but something crossing all the management areas, from programming to customization, from process design to project implementation, but also from strategy definition up to budget control.

In a business world currently focusing on cost control and business optimization is where IT and Innovation within IT can make the difference. The only business driver which will never reach a dead point is innovation. All other management capabilities such cost control, project efficiency and effectiveness, etc will end up somewhere in time in a cul-de-sac. Whether this is because no more efficiency-effectiveness will be achievable using the same managerial model or whether cost control will be no longer sustainable without affecting business operations is not the real matter. The matter is to understand that only by always looking for continuous improvement through innovation is when we can achieve sustainable growth in business.

Hence the need for our IT organizations to become more flexible, agile and open mindset on the way we approach the new business reality. Virtualization, open sources and technology standards are only few of the tools and capabilities we have to use in our daily work if we want to be succeeded. The major difference has to come with a complete managerial change on how we position ourselves and the IT departments within the business. We have to challenge the way IT is understood within our organizations, from a pure technology department to a more business centre of innovation.

Our mind as IT leaders has to remain open to the following principal - Business development and improvement result from innovation, creativity and perseverance, not from an static and monolithic management of systems architecture and people.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

IT Metrics - Project and Risk Management

Project Management is undoubtedly one of the key IT activities any CIO has to properly address if he wants to appropriately run the overall IT agenda. During my professional career many people has approached me asking which are in my opinion the more important aspects of running a successful project, and why? I always come back to them with two main building block recommendations ; the first one is to focus on project communication during the entire project time frame. This is a essential element of a well manage project because doing a proper job on communicating progress, risks, mitigation activities, achievements, etc. we will increase the level of people engagement, both internally within our teams and externally through the entire business organisation. Some times under the pressure to deliver critical operational milestones we tend to focus on project operations and IT deliverables without having in place a proper communication agenda. This is a clear m...

IT Metrics - What about Outsourcing

The relationship model to be establish between IT and the rest of the business is one of the first governance key decisions that has to be defined by the CIO once there is a clear IT strategy agreed with the rest of the Management Board members.  The CIO has to work in a close collaboration with the other C-members in order to agree on the best IT relationship strategy model we want for the company. Whether we go for a more internal one (full partnership) or for an external one (Outsourcing) we have to make clear that this position in the model regarding the preferred relationship might change along the way as a result of the maturity degree you can establish with the rest of the business, foreseen opportunities, business challenges, etc. As a result of that decision, a full Outsourcing model for some of the IT processes and services or for the whole portfolio can be explored and implemented in order to fulfil both, business and the IT strategy. There is however somet...

IT Metrics - IT positioning at business level

An IT department has to be technology or management driven organization? This is a key question mark for many CEOs when confronted with the need to bring their own IT organizations to a different level of maturity. If he decides in favor of a technology driven organization then the IT department and its responsible person will be normally subordinated to someone at the Company Board level. In Europe the Finance Director is one of the first and common choices that many companies are following, as historically the Finance Director – CFO has been in charge of large company projects having high financial impact. If on the contrary the CEO decides that there is a clear need for the business organization to improve the overall IT performance then he will take the decision to bring his Head of IT to the Board level position. This dilemma differs between regions when comparing the number of companies in Europe having the IT responsible at the Company board level with oth...