What does strategy mean to you? Research shows that a significant number of all IT projects are considered to have either a marginal effect or to be an outright failure. Is this something to do with strategy? In many cases it is thought that projects don’t deliver due to poor business analysis. Projects may fundamentally deliver, but often suffer from three main ills;
Taking twice as long as planned.
Costing more than estimated.
Not delivering the required level of functionality.
How is this possible when IT has become the foundation of many organisations? There are of course many factors. Foundation IT itself has a long way to go before all our customer projects (and some of our own) are a runaway success every time. It is a constant challenge and our approach is always evolving; we are considered to be a strategic partner for both VMware and SharePoint for many of our closest customers.
What can Foundation IT do strategically?
We are often asked by our customers to carry out strategic work as part of a significant IT project. At the heart of everything Foundation IT does is a strong desire to operate strategically. A clear strategy is the starting point for any project we take on. Our maturity models and methodology for both our VMware and SharePoint practices clearly shows the starting point for any project is the Discovery phase. Here we work out what the strategy is, what the long term plan looks like and we ensure the project is correctly aligned with the business objectives. This requires a strong amount of high level contribution and a clear vision not just for the project but where the organisation as a whole is heading.
This then leads to a well defined and understood project plan that has the support it needs to become a success. Once the action plan and vision is clear then everyone must work towards achieving their particular part of the project. By acting tactically and delivering strategically it should be possible to provide a balance between ensuring that sufficient momentum is driven behind the day to day tasks without losing sight of the long term vision. This ensures that all planned functionality and subsequent realised benefits are achieved in the correct timescale and within budget.
Together we are stronger!
Having an outside expert is crucial if ambitious and remarkable strategic objectives are going to be achieved. Instinctively we all know where we want to go however getting there with the necessary support and impact that we envision is very difficult. Just making do with an average result is not desirable and in today’s markets is likely to be at some cost.
At Foundation IT we work closely alongside our customers for strategic implementations to make sure that our projects succeed with the maximum possible impact. So many projects that start with good intentions just scrape past the finishing post, often late and with a sense of disappointment or certainly not the delight that is experienced when a strategic project truly delivers. If your organisation has a strategic ambition and are looking for a partner to help make your plans a reality, we would love to hear from you.