IT Strategy

2. What the heck is IT strategy anyway?

3. How about…. Where and how should we prioritise the time, money and resources we put into IT to make it a driver of customer satisfaction, business growth, and profit rather than just an operational cost?

4. An adapted model

5. How about…. OK, so most people working in IT nowadays weren’t even born in the 1990s, but this model, by Vaughan Merlyn is one I really like. (NB Vaughan is still forging ahead with great ideas – see here http://www.themerlyngroup.com/blog/ Just because a model is “old” doesn’t mean it isn’t good! It’s a common sense approach to understanding IT strategy as a series of three “IT Maturity Levels”. I’ve adapted it to a 2015 “Cloud World”

6. How about…. Key points inherent within the model include: • What the business needs – in red vs what IT needs to deliver – in blue • The levels are sequential and additive – i.e. each one builds on the one before • There is a discontinuity between each level – e.g. to enable innovation requires flexibility and independence that is counter intuitive compared to the focus on integrated systems at earlier levels • Getting Level 1 right – stable infrastructure, doesn’t add as much value as fast as Level 2 – the application layer. Which is why it often feels like you can spend ages and £££s on this and not be any further ahead.

7. Three Levels of IT Maturity What the Business needs What IT has to deliverValue Time • Enable business & partnerships • Enable collaboration • Consolidated management information • Integrated processes orientation across business units Business Effectiveness • Foundation systems • Cost savings • Operational information • Functional orientation Business Efficiency • Robust, dependable services/solutions • Core common infrastructure • Stabilise operations and support • Data used ad hoc Infrastructure Focus • Enhanced applications improving operations, business processes and collaboration • Data drives decisions Application Focus • Customer led innovation • Converge business & IT strategy • Flexibility and agility • Data visible across the business Innovation Focus Adapted from work by Vaughan Merlyn at Ernst & Young 1990s • Growth through innovation and differentiation • Flexible agile business capabilities • Business intelligence shared with staff and customers • Customer responsive orientation • Individual unit needs vs corporate whole Business Transformation 1 2 3

8. Three basic questions 1. What are the current key drivers of success in my sector ? 2. What are the key drivers for my business? 3. How could we align IT with these?

9. How about…. And if you’re stuck with trying to figure out where you could be focusing to drive IT value through your business, then try this model also from Ernst & Young. Their research talks about how high performing businesses focus on pushing ahead in four areas: • Customer Reach • Cost Competitiveness • Stakeholder Confidence • Operational Agility Actually, IT can support all of these, but I have shaded some of the more obvious ones in green

10. Source: Ernst & Young: Growing Beyond How high performers are accelerating ahead http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Issues/Driving- growth/Growing-Beyond/Growing-Beyond---How-high- performers-are-accelerating-ahead

11. And finally… • Some opportunities to think differently about how you’re running IT in your business – Review IT governance? 1. Operational – keeping the lights on 2. Strategic – alignment with the business – Most businesses spend far too much time on 1 and not enough on 2 • Ask your stakeholders about Maturity Levels 2 and 3 – what do you need to be doing to get up that value curve? – Key fee earners – Key customers • Research and learn from competitors/industry best practice – rather than too much “navel gazing” get your focus outwards.

IT Strategy

IT Strategy

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