In many companies IT is not used as a strategic asset:
- Most companies spend 60% – 80% of their total IT dollars on maintenance rather than innovation.
- IT investment decision-making processes are immature for many companies.
- IT financials typically look like a “black box.”
- IT value is not understood in business terms within many organizations.
When IT is used strategically it can help facilitate innovation and change the rules for business. Many times IT leaders know they have a problem, but they can’t get to the root of it. Rather than fixing the organization they just muddle through it. An organization can be in chaos and still get great things done; however, it’s a chaotic process that consumes unnecessary energy and is simply not a sustainable model.
After 20 years in the IT industry it finally occurred to me that we need some way to assess an organization’s status and then be able to create a path to improvement. Folks, this may be IT we are talking about here — but we are NOT talking about technology. This is all about people and process and has little to do with technology. Let’s face it – the technology will evolve and change over time.
As much as I would like to personally take credit for developing our IT Assessment tool, I can’t. One of my colleagues at Bender Consulting has been using this tool with clients for the past few years with great success.
After a 2-4 week interview and data analysis process we score the organization’s current state on a scale from chaotic to adaptive. Most organizations wind up in the middle to lower end of the scale for a variety of reasons. The important fact is not where your organization is currently, but rather why it is there? After creating a realistic idea of where you want your organization to be, we can then start plotting a course to move from current to desired state.
I strongly encourage you to find a tool and methodology that you are comfortable with to evaluate your organization. Make sure that your Plan of Record includes efforts around effective business processes and employee satisfaction/morale (this coming from a guy who used to think, and say, “if employees don’t like it they know where the door is”).
For more information on our IT Assessment Tool, click here.
Scott Archibald is a Managing Director at Bender Consulting. You can follow Scott on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Scott_Archibald
