Ict Vision And Strategy Development

ICT Vision and Strategy Development Alan McSweeney

Objectives
To describe a view of and approach to developing an ICT strategy

Agenda
IT Vision
IT Challenges and Trends
View of IT Strategy
Approach to Developing IT Strategy

IT Vision
A key enabler of business
Proactively respond to the IT needs of the organisation
Implement flexible and agile systems and infrastructures and be flexible and agile in it dealings with the business
Connected to and aligned with the business and its requirements
Business Information Technology

IT - Core Principles
Recommends that IT define a core set of principles/policies:
IT strategy will be developed and maintained in line with market analysis and key stakeholder requirements and IT strategy to be aligned with the organisation’s vision
IT delivers core services to cost and quality standards
IT as a function is controlled and compliant to industry standards
Security will be embedded in IT
IT enables flexible service delivery to users
IT supports business growth
IT supports and enables compliance in the wider organisation
IT budgets will be developed and maintained for new services or improved IT Services

IT Challenges and Trends
General challenges and trends in information technology
Information Security Management
Identity and Access Management
Conforming to Assurance and Compliance Standards
Privacy Management
Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP) and Business Continuity Management (BCM)
IT Governance
Securing and Controlling Information Distribution
Mobile and Remote Computing
Electronic Archiving and Data Retention
Document, Forms, Content and Knowledge Management
Training, Competency and Awareness
Business Process Improvement, Workflow and Process Exception Alerts
Improved Application and Data Integration
Web Deployed Applications
Enterprise System Management
Business Intelligence (BI)
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Information Portals
Environmental Concerns
Infrastructure Optimisation
Which ones are of interest to you?
IT aware of and monitoring key technologies, trends and challenges to ensure that the organisation will be ready to respond to changes quickly and effectively
Benchmarking against other industries and competitors
Developing best practice

IT Demands
Mitigate Risk
Ensure security and continuity of internal business operations, while minimising exposure to external risk factors
Maximise Return
Improve business results; grow revenue and earnings, cash flow, and reduced cost of operations
Improve Performance
Improve business operations performance end-to-end across the enterprise
Increase customer and employee satisfaction
Increase Agility
Enable the business organisation and operations to adapt to changing business needs

Balancing Act

IT Demands
Internal stakeholders:
Business uniits
IT
External stakeholders
Partners
Regulators
Vendors and suppliers

IT and Strategy
Strongly believe that information technology is only a tool
To be effective, it must be tightly linked to the underlying business
Information Technology Strategy seeks to
Align the priorities of IT with the priorities of the business
Ensure that IT is capable of fulfilling its role in the business
Align the characteristics of IT with those of the business
Information Technology has significant leverage on the performance of an organisation
An IT Strategy is a sensible and practical management action to gain control over this increasingly important element of the organisation

IT Strategy
Information Technology Strategy provides benefits to the organisation
Supports active management and leadership on the use of IT to support the business strategy
Enhances management control over IT resources
Maximises the value contribution of IT by ensuring alignment of the IT strategy with the business strategy
IT strategy addresses two separate but interrelated sets of issues:
Demand issues relate to what the business needs and wants from IT
Supply issues relate to how the IT business area has to operate in order to satisfy business demand

IT Controls and Compliance
IT Controls and Compliance
IT must implement internal controls around how it operates
The systems IT delivers to the business and the underlying business processes these systems actualise must be controlled – these are controls external to IT
The de-facto standard for IT governance is COBIT
C ontrol Ob jectives for I nformation and related T echnology
COBIT aims to be different from other quality and governance approaches in two ways:
It is an IT governance framework and supporting set of tools that IT can use to bridge the gap between control requirements, technical issues and business risks
It provides a detailed implementation structure and toolset that translates the framework theory into a practical and achievable deliverables

Contexts and Perspectives on Change and Impact
Business-Oriented Context
Business Process focuses on the actions, how and in what sequence activities are carried out, what rules are followed, and the types of results obtained
Organisation focuses on the people and organisations involved in the change: their culture, capabilities, capacities, roles, structures, and organisational units
Location focuses on the geographic distribution of locations where business is conducted and the characteristics of various location types
Technology-Oriented Context
Information and Data focuses on business rules, content, structure, relationships, and the transformation of information used by processes and applications
Systems and Applications focuses on the capabilities, structure, and user interface of software applications and components
Technology focuses on the hardware, system software, and communications infrastructure used to enable and support systems and services

Business and IT Strategy
Business Strategy
Defines the strategic goals, imperatives and initiatives to direct the business
Business strategy is the principal driver of IT strategy
IT strategy is developed to support the business strategy
IT can also provide opportunities to reshape the business strategy
Organisation IT Strategy
Defines the strategic direction of information technology within the organisation required to support and achieve business strategy.
IT Business Function Strategy
Defines the strategic direction of the IT function to develop, deploy, operate, manage and support the IT systems needed by the business
Includes processes and supporting technology

Information Technology Demand and Supply
Demand Issues - what the business needs and wants from IT
IT portfolio alignment
Initiative identification and business strategy enablement
IT-enabled business invention
Demand rationalisation and prioritisation such as cost/benefit analyses and risk assessments
Supply Issues - how the IT function has to operate to satisfy business demand
IT mission alignment
Cost and affordability constraints
Organisational positioning
IT governance and leadership
Core competencies and sourcing
Practical constraints

Organisational and IT Strategy
Starting point of IT strategic plan
IT strategic plan must align with organisational strategy
IT architecture influences organisational strategy (and vice versa)
Organisational strategy helps set initial IT strategic planning priorities

Business Vision and Strategy

Business and IT Strategy

IT Strategy Realisation Issues
The strategy is unrealistic with regard to resources and investment
The strategy is not consistent with the maturity of the business
The strategy is not aligned with the strategic imperatives of the business
The strategy contradicts the business culture

Targeting an Information Technology Strategy
To understand and support the business strategy and to contribute to its development
To define the direction for Information Technology within the organisation
To define the direction for the Information Technology business function within the overall organisation

Vision, Strategy, Architecture and Implementation
Vision defines the overall and high-level set of principles that will govern the use of ICT within the organisation
Strategy takes the Vision to the next level of detail
Contains the set of goals and objectives to realise the Vision
Architecture translates the Vision and Strategy into an implementation framework
Implementation Plan defines the portfolio of projects needed to implement the agreed Architecture, the sequence in which the need to be performed, their dependencies and pre-requisites and implementation requirements

Vision, Strategy, Architecture and Implementation

IT Vision
Designed to meet challenges, both now and in the future
Balancing the need to control costs, provide flexibility, reduce and manage risk and provide service and performance
Develop an integrated IT framework
Defined and costed a customised programme of work to achieve vision incrementally

IT Architecture Framework

Service Management
Information is a key strategic asset which the organisation needs to manage
IT Service Management is the processes, methods, functions, roles and activities used to deliver value to the business in the form of services
IT Service Management is a strategic asset, rather than an organisational capability
Benefits of implementing Service Management
Provide consistent service to users
Measure level of service being provided
Implement processes to ensure reliable IT service
Enforce consistent management of IT systems and infrastructure
Improve service reliability, reduce downtime
Control costs
Platform for organisation growth

IT Process and Service Management Framework

ICT Vision, Strategy and Implementation Plan Work Programme
Two streams
Delivery Stream – where the analysis, strategy, design, specification, architectural planning work will be done
Project Management Stream – where the project will be managed, controlled and reported on
Review milestone at the end of each of the project stages
Output from the stage is reviewed and agreed by designated personnel
Ensure that the exercise is kept focussed
Allows the workplan to be modified if required
Ensures that issues are addressed quickly

Sample Work Programme - Develop Future ICT Vision and Strategy
Scope: The vision of the desired future IT condition consists of:
Set of prioritised IT business uses
Set of IT business area capabilities and processes sufficient to deliver the high-priority business uses.
The IT Strategy consists of the changes to the current supply and demand condition necessary to realise the vision.
This definition of the demand and supply portfolios may also suggest updates to the outputs created in earlier programme activities
Entry Conditions
IT best practices have been investigated
Technology trends have been analysed
Application, technology, and project portfolios have been analysed for strategic alignment
Application, technology, and project opportunities have been identified and analysed
Capability of IT to meet demand has been analysed
Exit Conditions
Future has been described in terms of satisfied business demands (applications, data, technology) and IT capabilities and processes
All relevant IT environments and processes have been considered

Approach
Business requirements drive strategy and architecture
Capturing business requirements is essential
Define key principles/policies/critical success factors for IT
Requirements Strategy Architecture Implementation Business Functional Technical Implementation

ICT Vision and Strategy Deliverables
Enterprise Architecture and Information and Communication Vision, Strategy – translate the Strategic Aims and Strategic Objectives contained in the organisation’s Strategic Plan into an ICT oriented vision and strategy
ICT Strategy Architecture – translate the ICT Vision and Strategy into a physical architecture and associated sub-projects, initiatives and changes that will realise the overall strategy
Suitable technologies will be identified
Business cases for each project, initiative and change.
IT Architecture Implementation Plans – overall implementation plan for the entire project and implementation plans for each constituent sub-project, initiative and change
Project resources, dependencies and pre-requisites.
Project Management and Delivery Documentation – material generated during the life of the project

Project Phasing Feasibility Low Low High High Deliverable 1 Deliverable 2 Deliverable 3 Deliverable 4 Business Value

Strategy Realisation Programme
Identify project sequencing and dependencies

Business Case Justification
Scope Definition and Agreement - Scope and requirements of the engagement are confirmed. The required outputs are agreed
Requirements Analysis, Definition and Agreement - Business, functional, technical and implementation requirements are identified, analysed and documented
Existing processes and systems impacted by the proposed investment are analysed
Solution Architecture Specification and Design - Logical solution is designed to meet the defined and agreed requirements
Solution Implementation Options and Selection - Options for implementing the solution – package acquisition and customisation, existing system upgrade, system development – are analysed
Options or options are recommended
Implementation Plan Roadmap - A realistic plan to implement the solution is creating, incorporating resource requirements and constraints and includes risk, assumptions and dependencies
Financial Analysis - The full costs to implement and operate the solution are quantified
Tangible savings are identified

Business Case Preparation

Key Messages
IT strategic plan is a key to obtaining necessary funds - worthwhile investment
IT strategic plan is an enabler of doing things better and doing better things
Strategy development exercises can be short and cost-effective engagements – low cost, high-value
Take a practical focussed, realistic, sensible, down-to-earth approach
Develop realistic IT strategies
IT strategy can unblock IT spending plans
IT strategy is applicable across all business areas

More Information
Alan McSweeney
[email_address]

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Ict Vision And Strategy Development

by Alan McSweeney

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