In addition to IT’s role as a vital support system, organizations now leverage technology to improve processes, generate topline growth and gain a competitive advantage. Making their role even more complex, IT must also turn on a dime to meet changing business conditions and technology advancements. In this environment, business and IT integration along with leaner, more agile methodologies are critical success factors.

For organizations who want to leverage IT for greater value, there are a few criteria to consider:

  • Using the right organizational model
  • Developing a change management strategy
  • Building a sourcing and vendor management strategy
  • Selecting the right solutions and implementation method
  • Buy-in from leadership for IT improvements

At T2 Tech Group, we help clients prepare for and implement IT transformations. In this role, our team works to make sure organizations develop and execute strategy for the above criteria. For this post, I outline our perspective on adopting better methodologies and integrating IT processes with business priorities.

Prepare for change, and integrate business and technology into the organizational model

On a high level, “lean” boils down to improving quality and maximizing resource use. These objectives coincide with iterative or agile-based methods, which aim to increase process efficiency through collaboration and reflection. When the ideas behind lean and agile are applied to the IT industry, they coincide with multiple standard business techniques that many have been practicing in a diverse range of industries.

Today’s greater emphasis on lean and agile processes points to the increasing importance of IT. Organizations now depend on digital technologies to provide easy access to information, customer-serving tools, improved communications and automated operations. As IT plays an increasingly vital role in operations and strategy, leaders with technology and business expertise will become even more important assets. These leaders will help shape more efficient organizational models for the changing landscape.

More iterative or agile-based methodologies will continue to be a crucial component to IT leadership. The benefit to agile-based execution methods is that they efficiently encourage collaboration at various organizational levels and allow teams to adapt. This helps organizations manage change through iterative execution methods while it provides transparency during stakeholder presentations. When teams constantly communicate across levels and refine processes, organizations end up with leaner, more efficient IT.

Manage sourcing and product selection

With a growing number and variety of IT products and services, organizations need a sourcing strategy to coordinate in-house resources and vendors. By providing an assessment and roadmap, experts can help an organization determine what products are necessary to meet the needs of the organization and what functions should remain insourced and what should be outsourced.

Additionally, IT products and third-party resources can require long-term commitments and constant collaborative efforts. Therefore, optimal procurement and project management methods will maximize investments. A vendor management strategy helps efficiently coordinate these efforts. By developing a strategy, organizations can ensure appropriate vendors provide high-quality services and products, and efficiency will increase.

To access steps for handling the early phases of vendor relations, read T2 Tech Group’s white paper “A Nine-Step Vendor Management Strategy.”

Experts to facilitate buy-in and aid team efforts

In the end, IT involvement and expansion are only possible with complete buy-in from leadership. To gain this buy-in, teams must identify a path forward and clearly communicate how investments will provide value. To gain buy-in and develop a clear path, one place to start is by simply identifying gaps and needs in an organizational readiness assessment. An assessment will clearly show what areas need improvements, and it will provide a roadmap for the necessary people, process and technology changes.

When it comes time to implement changes, my team uses a hybrid methodology designed specifically for IT projects. This unique methodology combines upfront planning with agile-based execution methods. It succeeds in the face of pressing deadlines and/or limited resources, addresses communication across organizational parties and helps teams build upon culture and company morale. This methodology is designed to overcome many challenges.

An experienced team to facilitate more adaptive IT

T2 Tech Group provides high-quality IT consulting services to executives and IT leaders. Our team is comprised of CIOs, engineers, project managers, and industry-specific experts. We leverage our joint business and IT expertise to help organizations design and implement quality solutions.

When brought in, we are responsible for making technology work for our clients and those they serve. This means we must view IT in relation to the greater value stream, considering organizational structure, process, technology, and in-house and outsourced teams. By integrating the necessary parts together, teams embrace technology, and investments lead to valuable business assets and results for our clients.