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Copyright Phil Churchman & Company Ltd. Not to be reproduced without prior permission.
IS in many companies is typified by the phrase "I wouldn't want to
start here"! Cumbersome legacy processes and systems are
embedded in the fabric of the business. There can be hundreds or
even thousands of applications on multiple platforms and data
architectures supported by a whole variety of service companies
and consultancies. IT project portfolios can be comprised of just a
few projects delivering new business capability combined with
many that are implementing the fixes necessary just to keep the
business running.
Companies in this situation almost always have a cost of IT that is a higher proportion of revenue than more nimble competitors. What is worse, these competitors can usually deliver new products and capabilities to customers far more quickly.
Companies in this situation almost always have a cost of IT that is a higher proportion of revenue than more nimble competitors. What is worse, these competitors can usually deliver new products and capabilities to customers far more quickly.
"Ruthless standardisation" is a phrase that is often used by consultants as the answer to this problem, but
the devil is of course in the detail. Wholesale outsourcing or moving to a greenfield solution is attractive,
but is not always justifiable either financially or from a business risk point of view.
Phil's approach starts with identifying the most significant IT failures and opportunities. Failures include high IT operating costs, high cost of change, inflexibility and unreliable applications and infrastructure. Opportunities include customer self-service, business process automation and virtual workforce. The financial value of these failures and opportunities is assessed and priorities agreed with business and IT management. Phil then helps the business identify options for delivering against the agreed priorities. Options can range from focused improvement initiatives to IT re-engineering and outsourcing.
Phil has worked with companies in telecoms, chemicals, industrial gases, shipping and insurance to conduct IT value diagnostics that have identified tens of millions of pounds of realisable benefits.
Phil's approach starts with identifying the most significant IT failures and opportunities. Failures include high IT operating costs, high cost of change, inflexibility and unreliable applications and infrastructure. Opportunities include customer self-service, business process automation and virtual workforce. The financial value of these failures and opportunities is assessed and priorities agreed with business and IT management. Phil then helps the business identify options for delivering against the agreed priorities. Options can range from focused improvement initiatives to IT re-engineering and outsourcing.
Phil has worked with companies in telecoms, chemicals, industrial gases, shipping and insurance to conduct IT value diagnostics that have identified tens of millions of pounds of realisable benefits.
Phil Churchman & Company
Consulting Services