In our last post (https://teachableskills.com/leadership/start-it-modernization/) we introduced the idea of a 4-step method to plan an IT modernization as a key step in leading your digital transformation.
This week we will share an intro to the IT Enterprise Method, or ITEM for short, to guide your IT Modernization delivery.
Your role in leading a Digital Transformation
Your role in leading a digital transformation initiative requires your organization’s corporate strategic plan to set a digital transformation initiative as a key action item to achieve the organization’s mission. In any major transformation multiple disciplines must be coordinated in tandem and technology is constantly changing and evolving. This section of the Leading Digital Transformation Guide frames the strategy for modernizing your organization’s information technology as one of the foundations of a digital transformation focused on operational excellence through cost effective usage of IT and support for efficient operations. The IT Modernization strategy must be integrated with the overall corporate strategy from mission planning through performance and achievement of outcomes, and the strategy complements the individual strategies held by each line of business. It is recommended that the Leadership must understand that the modernization will be a multi-year effort requiring close coordination between IT, Finance, and each of the impacted client teams. A higher level of transparency into IT activities and total cost of ownership is required so that investment decision making will be informed by choices to increase the business benefits of suitability, value, and agility; and a decrease to risk, cost, and complexity.
What is IT Modernization?
IT modernization is defined as continuously retaining, extending, and modernizing legacy data and technology assets in order to increase value, achieve organizational objectives, and provide the business benefits of productivity and efficiency. A general IT Modernization strategy focuses on meeting the strategic imperatives of reducing both aging IT and risk, and the strategy will achieve multiple outcomes: firstly, to maximize the reuse of existing information and technology resources and expertise to securely support the organization’s mandate while also reducing cost; secondly, adopt modern technologies and practices to support the mandate while also reducing risk, complexity, and cost associated to aging IT; thirdly, mature governance, policy, and oversight of IT investments to ensure secure, efficient, and cost-effective usage of IT resources; and finally strengthen the organization’s security posture through secure infrastructure, information management, and cyber security management practices.
Limited insight into the details and metrics associated with activities, costs, and utilization of the full IT environment is a frequent barrier that must be addressed as a priority in order to assess the potential benefits of any proposed IT change. Also, the need to benchmark current IT operating costs and opportunities for time savings or cost avoidance is required to inform which commodity IT functions can be removed and used to simplify the IT environment or fund higher valued work.
In the IT operating model, typical IT groups provision network services for voice, video, data; application hosting; application development services; provides physical resources in desktop and employee productivity solutions, mobile devices, and facilities for the organization in its duty to manage IT, and the IT management model must be considered for adaptation to both build a modern workforce while also partially shifting the responsibility of managing IT to managed service provides and industry cloud service providers where value in doing so outweighs the risks. A review of all of the technology capabilities must be reflected in the strategy, while also accounting for recommended consolidation and application modernization changes to the existing application portfolio.
The IT modernization strategy will fall short of achieving broad impact if the organizational governance processes are not considered. Furthermore, the strategy should reinforce the usage of modern IT practices and support for a hybrid work environment while modernizing the workforce with the required competencies and skills to increase their readiness for a digital transformation.
In our next post we will share the common IT modernization drivers and three common business goals and three common IT goals that you can use to craft your IT Modernization strategy.