Trends in IT Transformation
Content
Trends in IT Transformation Niranjan Prasad Practice Lead, Information Strategy Accenture
Good IT is seen and not heard! This is possible only by transforming IT to integrate enterprise data, standardize enterprise services and enable applications to perform seamlessly. The success of any IT transformation depends less upon the availability of technologies and more on the business culture in which IT initiatives are being conceptualized and executed. It is important that these initiatives are in keeping with the objectives of business leaders at an organization.
Business Drivers
This article focuses on key trends and best practices in large IT transformation initiatives.
Typically, the focus of IT transformation initiatives is on:
2
The aim of all IT transformation initiatives is to significantly improve the way corporate IT departments operate and support business needs of organizations. In general, when we think of IT transformation initiatives, what comes to mind are activities that reduce cost, increase crossfunctional roles, reorganize IT reporting structures and centralize or decentralize resources. Unlike in the past, where IT and business groups worked in their respective silos, of late the trend is for IT to play an active role in helping executives formulate business strategies, execute them and anticipate future business direction and requirements. This collaboration between the two entities is not just desirable but necessary, especially for organization-wide IT transformation initiatives.
• Enabling business improvement— actions are taken to help increase the ROI, leverage new technologies or manage mergers and acquisitions • Enhancing IT operations— involves building capabilities to enhance delivery, increase productivity,and reduce IT cost as well as risks
CIOs Perform a Difficult Balancing Act The technology landscape is changing faster now than ever before. We are seeing a move away from stand-alone and fully integrated ERP systems to coordinated or flexible ERP systems. While this definitely increases the ability to mix and match products and services, it requires advanced technical skills in executing complex software integration projects. In addition, with innovation in delivery models, we are witnessing a move away from client dedicated teams to a shared delivery model. These trends, coupled with the dynamic world of business are leading CIOs to ask themselves:
How do I manage to… • Deliver day-to-day services • Enhance quality of IT services • Leverage global operating models • Optimize technology sourcing strategy • Meet heightened need for data and insights • Manage merger integration to achieve desired synergies
…while controlling cost • Deliver more with flat or declining budgets • Maximize return on IT investments • Enhance efficiency, effectiveness, productivity • Simplify and standardize systems
...and preparing for tomorrow? • Invest strategically in IT to support growth and future needs of the business • Capitalize on new technologies to gain competitive advantage and build new capabilities • Align IT objectives with business goals An important objective of an IT transformation initiative is to help CIOs optimize cost and increase the value of IT to business.
Accenture IT Transformation Service Transformation projects are expensive and complex, and therefore, the risk of failure could be high. This is where prior experience of handling such initiatives, especially on a large scale, can be a major factor in ensuring the success of a project.
3
Accenture teams that provide IT transformation services have deep expertise and extensive experience in both the IT and business environment—a balance most crucial for successful execution of such projects. They are, therefore, able to quickly analyze client IT functions, diagnose areas for improvement, build a robust business case for broader IT transformation, shape a change program and map a direct route to business results. Prior knowledge and experience in implementing complex IT (including application and infrastructure) transformation projects has helped shape our best practices as well as our capability and maturity model.
IT Transformation Best Practices IT Transformation efforts are large and complex, and involve significant investment. It is mandatory to have sound governance and risk management practices to keep IT Transformation projects on track. The key practices at Accenture that manage an IT transformation include: Governance, Change Management and People Management—Ensures detailed project management of deliverables, effective change management and communication, sound feedback mechanism and clarity on how to handle midcourse correction in scope, vision and priorities or timelines.
Business Alignment—Provides guidance for actively engaging the business leadership of client organizations and aligning IT vision with business priorities. Risk Management Strategy—Gives reassurance to client and third party project stakeholders about unforeseen situations, which may increase the project cost, expand its scope, prolong effort estimation or delay the delivery schedule.
IT Capability Maturity Model IT transformation projects require an understanding of an organizations’ maturity level and its target ambitions. This is precisely the reason why Accenture established the IT Capability and Maturity Model (ITCMM)—a structured framework created on the basis of extensive client experience. ITCMM defines the key capabilities required within an IT organization while providing a way to understand the maturity across various dimensions. This proven and strategic approach helps our teams maximize the value of a transformation project in favor of clients. Accenture’s ITCMM comprises the following capabilities along with metrics for managing and tracking performance against each maturity level: Strategic IT Alignment—Focuses on translating business vision and strategies into IT investment and operation plans and on measuring enterprise performance.
IT Governance—Provides insight into how IT decisions are made, sponsored, enforced and evaluated both within and across the organization structure.
Going Beyond IT
Gone are the days when an IT transformation initiative was just an IT story. Today, the business levers are far more prominent; IT stakeholders work very closely Architecture and Information with their business counterparts Management—Shows how the to ensure that their objectives strategic IT architecture framework and implementation plans align is created and executed. closely to the expectations of business stakeholders. The strong Solution Delivery—Focuses on how collaboration between IT and systems are built and moved into business stakeholders ensures live service. the success of IT transformation projects. Service Management and Operations—Provides information on how day-to-day operational service is planned, delivered and measured.
Career Opportunities at Accenture
Information and Technology Security—Illustrates how enterprise information and related assets are protected. Workforce and Resource Management—Provides details on how support services are delivered and how HR, knowledge and financial resources are managed.
Copyright © 2012 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture. 4
If you enjoyed reading this article and would like to explore career opportunities in India with Accenture, we encourage you to visit us and learn about vacancies, our work environment, benefits, career path and much more.
About Accenture Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US $27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com
Good IT is seen and not heard! This is possible only by transforming IT to integrate enterprise data, standardize enterprise services and enable applications to perform seamlessly. The success of any IT transformation depends less upon the availability of technologies and more on the business culture in which IT initiatives are being conceptualized and executed. It is important that these initiatives are in keeping with the objectives of business leaders at an organization.
Business Drivers
This article focuses on key trends and best practices in large IT transformation initiatives.
Typically, the focus of IT transformation initiatives is on:
2
The aim of all IT transformation initiatives is to significantly improve the way corporate IT departments operate and support business needs of organizations. In general, when we think of IT transformation initiatives, what comes to mind are activities that reduce cost, increase crossfunctional roles, reorganize IT reporting structures and centralize or decentralize resources. Unlike in the past, where IT and business groups worked in their respective silos, of late the trend is for IT to play an active role in helping executives formulate business strategies, execute them and anticipate future business direction and requirements. This collaboration between the two entities is not just desirable but necessary, especially for organization-wide IT transformation initiatives.
• Enabling business improvement— actions are taken to help increase the ROI, leverage new technologies or manage mergers and acquisitions • Enhancing IT operations— involves building capabilities to enhance delivery, increase productivity,and reduce IT cost as well as risks
CIOs Perform a Difficult Balancing Act The technology landscape is changing faster now than ever before. We are seeing a move away from stand-alone and fully integrated ERP systems to coordinated or flexible ERP systems. While this definitely increases the ability to mix and match products and services, it requires advanced technical skills in executing complex software integration projects. In addition, with innovation in delivery models, we are witnessing a move away from client dedicated teams to a shared delivery model. These trends, coupled with the dynamic world of business are leading CIOs to ask themselves:
How do I manage to… • Deliver day-to-day services • Enhance quality of IT services • Leverage global operating models • Optimize technology sourcing strategy • Meet heightened need for data and insights • Manage merger integration to achieve desired synergies
…while controlling cost • Deliver more with flat or declining budgets • Maximize return on IT investments • Enhance efficiency, effectiveness, productivity • Simplify and standardize systems
...and preparing for tomorrow? • Invest strategically in IT to support growth and future needs of the business • Capitalize on new technologies to gain competitive advantage and build new capabilities • Align IT objectives with business goals An important objective of an IT transformation initiative is to help CIOs optimize cost and increase the value of IT to business.
Accenture IT Transformation Service Transformation projects are expensive and complex, and therefore, the risk of failure could be high. This is where prior experience of handling such initiatives, especially on a large scale, can be a major factor in ensuring the success of a project.
3
Accenture teams that provide IT transformation services have deep expertise and extensive experience in both the IT and business environment—a balance most crucial for successful execution of such projects. They are, therefore, able to quickly analyze client IT functions, diagnose areas for improvement, build a robust business case for broader IT transformation, shape a change program and map a direct route to business results. Prior knowledge and experience in implementing complex IT (including application and infrastructure) transformation projects has helped shape our best practices as well as our capability and maturity model.
IT Transformation Best Practices IT Transformation efforts are large and complex, and involve significant investment. It is mandatory to have sound governance and risk management practices to keep IT Transformation projects on track. The key practices at Accenture that manage an IT transformation include: Governance, Change Management and People Management—Ensures detailed project management of deliverables, effective change management and communication, sound feedback mechanism and clarity on how to handle midcourse correction in scope, vision and priorities or timelines.
Business Alignment—Provides guidance for actively engaging the business leadership of client organizations and aligning IT vision with business priorities. Risk Management Strategy—Gives reassurance to client and third party project stakeholders about unforeseen situations, which may increase the project cost, expand its scope, prolong effort estimation or delay the delivery schedule.
IT Capability Maturity Model IT transformation projects require an understanding of an organizations’ maturity level and its target ambitions. This is precisely the reason why Accenture established the IT Capability and Maturity Model (ITCMM)—a structured framework created on the basis of extensive client experience. ITCMM defines the key capabilities required within an IT organization while providing a way to understand the maturity across various dimensions. This proven and strategic approach helps our teams maximize the value of a transformation project in favor of clients. Accenture’s ITCMM comprises the following capabilities along with metrics for managing and tracking performance against each maturity level: Strategic IT Alignment—Focuses on translating business vision and strategies into IT investment and operation plans and on measuring enterprise performance.
IT Governance—Provides insight into how IT decisions are made, sponsored, enforced and evaluated both within and across the organization structure.
Going Beyond IT
Gone are the days when an IT transformation initiative was just an IT story. Today, the business levers are far more prominent; IT stakeholders work very closely Architecture and Information with their business counterparts Management—Shows how the to ensure that their objectives strategic IT architecture framework and implementation plans align is created and executed. closely to the expectations of business stakeholders. The strong Solution Delivery—Focuses on how collaboration between IT and systems are built and moved into business stakeholders ensures live service. the success of IT transformation projects. Service Management and Operations—Provides information on how day-to-day operational service is planned, delivered and measured.
Career Opportunities at Accenture
Information and Technology Security—Illustrates how enterprise information and related assets are protected. Workforce and Resource Management—Provides details on how support services are delivered and how HR, knowledge and financial resources are managed.
Copyright © 2012 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture. 4
If you enjoyed reading this article and would like to explore career opportunities in India with Accenture, we encourage you to visit us and learn about vacancies, our work environment, benefits, career path and much more.
About Accenture Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US $27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com
