Company Objectives
Over the years, I have often wondered why ICT does not
provide the benefits to business that it should.
Being a technical unit, ICT proposals don't talk to management in business terms that management can understand. Proposals concentrate on the technical elements of a project, not the business benefits. I have seen proposal documents that devote 100 pages to technical specifications, with two devoted to costs and benefits. A similar situation occurs with ICT presentations.
The upshot is that executives cannot understand and relate to the technical terms that ICT uses and see ICT as a cost centre and grudge expense. They do not believe that ICT is providing value for money. Management is frustrated with ICT, and ICT with management.
In consultant-speak, Senior Management does not recognise ICT as a strategic enabler of technology driven business improvement. In practical terms - Institutional Paralysis, or at the very least, frustration, delay, misdirected effort and misdirected spend.
Gartner recently said:
.......The
ability to sit on the President’s Cabinet, executive committee or whatever the
top policy forum is called is far more important, in that this seat allows the
top ICT leader to actively engage in institutional-level discussions about
strategic directions and policy and to work with other senior officers in
understanding the role that ICT can play in the various functional
areas................”.
That is how the gap can be bridged, by ensuring that the ICT leader is an excellent communicator, is business aware and part of the organisational strategic planning framework, and only finally, technically aware. It is vital to have a broad-based ICT leadership able to translate organisational strategy into technical requirements, and with the business ability to assess and demonstrate to management how technical advances can benefit an organisation.
However, not all organisations need or can afford a full-time ICT leader with these qualities.
Organisations such as Eala Bhan can provide benefit to all organisations by:
Being a “Trusted Advisor”, acting at an effective CIO level to work closely with Executive Management to define, document and agree an ICT strategy that complements and supports the Organisation's business strategy. This usually takes the form of an open-ended retention; either of a regular, limited time per month or an on-call arrangement.
Being a hands-on “Service Supplier”, by:
Acting in an Interim position in the organisation to provide skills and expertise for a specific project for a limited time; or
Providing interim ICT support to overcome temporary skill shortages, for example ICT Management between resignation and recruitment, or to meet temporary project requirements.
Because we have low overheads, our fee rates are significantly below the telephone numbers quoted by the traditional accounting-based and industry consultancies. They are also highly negotiable based on assignment, location and duration.
Please contact me for a no-obligation chat. If you are in the Greater Durban metropolis I will come to you. Contact 082-492-1055 or enquiries@ealabhan.co.za