Midmarket companies grow to a point where governance becomes important in order to reach next levels of growth and competitive advantage, as well as to drive compliance initiatives.

1. Governance
Tips for
Midmarket
IT Leaders
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2. What is Governance?
“Governance is the decision
framework and process by
which enterprises make investment
decisions and drive business
value. Period.(1)
(1) Governance Best Practices for Midmarket IT Leaders, Gartner, 16 May 2014
”
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3. Small companies
grow to be midmarket
companies.
Midmarket companies grow
to a point where governance
becomes important in
order to reach next levels
of growth and competitive
advantage, as well as to
drive compliance initiatives.
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4. Why?
Because companies that
perform governance well
are proven to outperform
companies that don’t.
IT investments will create
business value because
they will be driven by
business strategy and
measured for effectiveness.
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5. Books are written about governance. Organizations are devoted
to the practice. It’s easy to conclude that effective governance is
complex and overly time consuming. It doesn’t have to be,
especially for midmarket firms.
While certainly not a
definitive list, the
points that follow will
help guide you in the
right direction.
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6. Company leadership
must define the
strategic direction
and the capabilities
necessary to win
in the marketplace.
Decisions about every
investment, not just IT,
flow from that.
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7. Assign an individual or team...
1
...to identify, prioritize and measure investments in the
capabilities necessary to drive the strategic direction set
by the executive office. Without on-going executive
commitment, the process will fail.
Assign an individual or team...
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8. ...on what the business
criteria and metrics will
be to evaluate and justify
investments, as well as
the principles that will
guide decision-making
(e.g. build vs. buy, sourcing
preferences, carbon
footprint, etc.)
2 Come to
agreement...
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9. ...and effectively to the organization. Reinforce how projects and
purchases align with and support the corporate strategy.
3
Communicate regularly...
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10. ...show that the process works and to garner companywide
support for additional projects and investments.
4
Get a quick win...
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11. I T I N F R A S T R U C T U R E | C L O U D | M A N A G E D S E R V I C E S
Link governance
to key corporate
themes...
...such as cost reduction,
standardization, customer
satisfaction, simplification
or compliance, for example.
5
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12. I T I N F R A S T R U C T U R E | C L O U D | M A N A G E D S E R V I C E S
6
Procedural or cultural changes
are difficult for people to accept.
Incorporate the human factor
into planning and
implementation and allow
sufficient time for adjustment.
Expect
resistance.
Remember
to communicate
the intentions and
expected
outcomes.
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13. I T I N F R A S T R U C T U R E | C L O U D | M A N A G E D S E R V I C E S
...governance with multiple
committees, complex
procedures and templates,
or monitoring and reporting
overkill. This may only
create more resistance
and undermine program
effectiveness and support.
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7
Resist
over-engineering...

14. I T I N F R A S T R U C T U R E | C L O U D | M A N A G E D S E R V I C E S
8
Do not allow....
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...governance arrangements and structure to supplant
innovation, agility and creativity. That is a lose/lose proposition.

15. I T I N F R A S T R U C T U R E | C L O U D | M A N A G E D S E R V I C E S
9
Don’t Confuse...
...governance with project
management or good
management practices.
Remember, governance is a
decision-making framework.
A project may still fail.
Understanding how and
why it failed is an important
part of the process.
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16. I T I N F R A S T R U C T U R E | C L O U D | M A N A G E D S E R V I C E S
10
...with the corporate strategy and always measure results
against intended goals and objectives. Create an exception
plan in order to smoothly adapt in a thoughtful manner to
changing market or competitive conditions.
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Regularly assess alignment...Regularly assess alignment...

17. For more tips or to chat with
a Solution’s Engineer call:
866-473-2510
or go online: Peak10.com.
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Maintaining
Compliance is
critical.
Maintaining
Compliance is
critical.