Dive Brief:
- IT is tasked with serving two masters — client facing digital transformation and in-house functions — at the same time, according to a report from The Hackett Group. Not surprisingly, meeting success in dual roles is taxing, but fundamentally necessary.
- The Hackett report created metrics to compare the behavior of global organizations. It defines world class IT groups as those that reached top marks in efficiency and effectiveness in key categories. Average companies are those that missed the mark.
- A year of data identified run costs, defined as operational processes, as a big differentiator. World class companies manage to spend less on labor while delivering projects more quickly, spending 22% less on "cost per end user equivalent" than average companies.
Dive Insight:
On any day that ends in the letter Y, IT faces a crossroads. Of late, it is transformation. Look at the data, talk to experts and practitioners and they will say successful methods vary depending on the type of company and the level of involvement, direction and support from key stakeholders.
Yet, there are some basics:
- Putting the brakes on run costs delights CFOs and CEOs.
- Speed and agility are significant success indicators.
- Fully engaged employees can lead to greater customer experiences.
Top performing companies accomplish more at a lower cost than competitors. That savings can be and often is poured into transformation and innovation projects.
Where average companies can take just over a year on deliverables, world-class organizations are completing tasks in two to three months. To that end, world class outfits also approve fewer projects, which make workloads more manageable.
Essentially, world class operations understand real digital transformation is more than moving to the cloud. But average companies are waking up to what it takes to reach elite status. Demand management, cost-efficient operations, innovation, talent acquisition and retention, top-notch data analytics, tight cybersecurity and a CIO with a seat at the table enable organizations to reach transformation goals.
