IT Organizations Adjust to "New Normal"

The "new normal" is taking hold as businesses emerge from the economic recession and look to 2010 and beyond. Greater emphasis on disciplined decision making supported by a complete understanding of associated risks will become part of the norm.  To that end, one of the major Information Technology ("IT") market intelligence firms, IDC, recently published a report on what IT organizations should be doing to adjust to the "new normal".  Here is what IDC suggests as priorities for IT organizations.

1. Cost and Funding Management: IT organizations will increasingly be forced to develop cost profiles, including the business value of solutions, to support investment decisions. This will not be an easy or pleasant task, and has been a requirement that has dogged IT organizations for years.


2. Sourcing and Platform Strategies: As new options become available to achieve an IT or business objective, IT organizations will have more room to experiment, innovate, and change, but will also have to justify their choices more conclusively.


3. Equipment Leasing and Software Financing: Commercial organizations will return to IT leasing and financing as a means of bolstering their access to IT resources.


4. Life Cycle Management: IT organizations have already extended the planned deployment of many major systems, but they still need to develop the tools and management processes to quantify the underlying cost implications of these longer asset lifecycle models.


5. IT Financial Management Tools: As IT platforms and business processes increasingly move toward a mix of in-house and third-party provision, the need for IT financial management software, tools, and best practices to better enable IT organization operational decision-making will become apparent.

Does your IT organization have the necessary tools and supporting business practices to operate in this new environment?  If not, Wheelhouse Advisors can help.  Visit www.WheelhouseAdvisors.com to learn more.

Building Trust to Support Growth in 2010

This week, Information Technology ("IT") executives from around the globe have gathered in Orlando at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo.  A big focus of the event is how IT can become more transparent and accountable in order to support business growth in 2010.  The key is balancing risk management with performance management.  Here is what Gartner analysts have to say on the subject.

Risk management is about accepting that IT organizations cannot protect the company from everything, so they will have to make conscious decisions about what they will do to protect themselves, and what they will not do. They must learn to balance risk and performance. People need IT organizations to share information, so that they can trust them. IT leaders should accommodate letting outside information in, and sharing inside information appropriately. CIOs shouldn`t think they can shut down the two-way flow of information because they can`t stop it.

Gartner analysts said that the quality of data underpinning metrics such as measuring business productivity, profits, value, and efficiency of services delivered is inadequate. This stems from siloed and inconsistent business data, and from an over reliance on spreadsheets. Even where there have been investments in business intelligence, it`s not giving the business what it needs. The challenge for IT leaders is getting the information that everyone can believe in, and that everyone in the organization will trust. "IT leaders need robust information architectures and governance, coupled with data quality and integration capabilities to create an enterprise view across these silos," said Nigel Rayner, research vice president at Gartner. "You will need to rationalize and link performance measures across the business in an enterprise metrics framework. When the data is consistent, and everyone believes it, then you have built trust."

Wheelhouse Advisors recently partnered with Apptio, the leading provider of IT Financial Management solutions, to help companies achieve a balanced risk and performance management approach. Apptio’s on-demand IT Financial Management solutions provide greater visibility into the cost, utilization and operations of IT products and services so that businesses can identify ways to reduce IT costs, make better IT decisions and provide the business with a true Bill of IT. World class companies such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, BNP Paribas, EMD Chemical and Starbucks use Apptio’s IT cost analysis capabilities to reduce cost and achieve greater visibility into their IT costs and cost drivers. For more information, please visit www.apptio.com.