The Troublewith IT

Stuart Macdonaldstuart.macdonald@seric.co.uk0141 561 1161

Many business owners and senior IT staff have spoken very openly with me.

So I’ll be very honest here... *I have not spoken to your management team, this is generic!

IT has a perception problem

• “Projects never come in on time”When is the last time you heard anyone in the general media report positively on an IT project?

• “IT costs us a fortune”People associate IT with cost not value. IT can significantly impact the bottom line of any company, unfortunately all to often not in a good way

• “I don’t understand what IT are talking about” Often others in the business don’t understand or don’t believe claims made by IT

What does this mean for IT?

• “I’m unable to get budget”IT resource permitted... If a proposed project has an ROI of less than 6months should it EVER be rejected?

• “We are left to fire-fight”Perception is reality. As IT is not deemed to be delivering real business value the are rarely given a standing in the business to truly flourish.

•“I’ve been trying to get project buy-in but...”IT Staff explained “It’s like I’m speaking another language, their eyes just glaze over whenever I bring up the subject.”

So why the disjoint?

• Sales are from Venus and IT are from MarsIf you want to be successful with that lot... You have to talk to them in a language THEY understand...

• If you cannot explain a concept to an 8-year old you do not fully understand it yourself

This is not a slight on your intended audience...

• A significantly different view of buzzwords Wherever possible buzzwords should be banished in favour of actual education of your non-technical colleagues...

So what’s the opportunity?• Martians who speak Venutian do very well

Here are some phrases employed by successful Martians“This project has an expected ROI of less than 18months”

“Although new to the market, other businesses have made significant cost savings by implementing X”

“By implementing the new systems we will have the capacity to process X claims per hour with the same headcount. We expect to lower the cost per claim by Y%”

Here are some very unsuccessful phrases“A full list of new features are given in Appendix ZZZ”

“The new software will make everything easier”

Best first steps to take...

• Use a top down process when preparing information to deliver outwith IT

• Tell the truth and be professional

• Link the Business Goals to clear IT objectives

• As clearly and accurately as possible make achievable ROI cases for proposals

• Under-promise and over-deliver

What you can expect in return...

• Improved perception of the wider IT team

• Better success rate for non-budgeted proposals

• Help Business leaders to understand IT’s role

• A shift in thinking (this won’t happen overnight) within the Business regarding IT and Senior IT Management

• Less fire-fighting and more job satisfaction

Remember, IT is not all bad news.... .

On detailed bottom up plans & proposals

• IT are inherently good at detail. It’s what they do every day and keep the bigger show on the road... •These plans go a good way to ensuring compliance• They demonstrate due diligence on the part of the business

So what now?.

Why not give us a call...

We help IT to bridge the gap with the rest of their business every day.

Thank-you

Remember – this is generic!

Stuart Macdonaldstuart.macdonald@seric.co.uk0141 561 1161