managing "nasty surprises" is not a strategy-keynote presentation

managing “nasty surprises”

Christopher Luise

ADNET Technologies, LLC

IS NOT A STRATEGY

The Tower of Babble

There exists data…

A Strategy?

If you could look inside an IT Manager

Playing (with) Risk

Christopher Luise

Executive Vice President

cluise@goADNET.com

Mainframe

Minicomputer

Client Server

Distributed

Internet

Mobile

Cloud

Evolution of Computing

What an executive wants to hear…

Everything is going according to plan

Expenses are well within budget

We have all the resources we need to do our jobs

Nothing unexpected is expected to happen

How an IT manager is motivated…

Making sure everything is going according to plan

Keeping expenses well within budget (and maybe understand that budget???)

Completing all projects with available resources

Preventing unexpected things from happening

Feel Good. Making a difference. Being a member of the team.

BLUF JUST THE FACTS:

According to Forrester research,

approximately 70% of IT budgets are

spent maintaining inflexible and siloed

data center equipment.

How much time do you spend trying to keep what you already have from breaking down? ?

Mixed Messages?

“By 2012, 80% of Fortune 1000 enterprises will be using some cloud computer services, 20% of businesses will own no IT assets”

- Gartner

“If you're doing anything that is critical to your business, you need contingency plans. The marketing messages of some cloud computing companies have urged people to gloss over this need for contingency plans.“

- Jay Heiser, Gartner cloud security analyst

“In 2008, IT accounted for 50% of US capital

spending even though elaborate systems are in

place to show how the capital is spent, few

systems are in place to demonstrate the capital

is well spent.

In other words, although companies are

managing IT spending, they’re not managing IT

returns.”

Source: 8 Things We Hate About IT: How to Move Beyond the Frustrations to Form a New Partnership with IT, Susan Cramm

What Makes a Good IT Organization?

A willingness by IT leadership to be data-driven

Having access to the data you need

Relying on data to guide decisions instead of only intuition and experience

Consistent business and technology processes across departments

IT governance

Source: The Wall Street Journal, in partnership with McKinsey & Co. – April 25, 2011

BLUF

The Good, the Bad, and the Hard Reality

Bad news:

There is no magic bullet to prevent nasty

surprises from happening

Good news:

But there are steps to help you manage them

Thorough methodology

Rigorous process

Complete & solid business strategy

Metrics

Review program

Result of continuous improvement of current processes

Paths & options remain constant

Vision(s)

Role of IT changes

Not an official event

Pe

rfe

ct W

orl

d

Re

ality

The Fundamentals

– Governance

– Risk management

– Strategy

– Relationships

– Talent inventory & development

Strategic Process

“a different reality for most”

An Academic Look at the Strategic Process

Competitive Rivalry within

an Industry

Bargaining power of Suppliers

Bargaining power of customers

Threat of new Entrants

Threat of Substitute Products

… with Apologies to the 5 Forces of Porter…

10,000 Foot View

Strategic Plan

Resources

Environment

Capacity

Strategic Plan Purpose

Vision, Mission, Values

Themes & Strands

Objectives

KPIs

Risk Analysis

Resources

People, technology, budget, time, requirements

Environment

Corporate Strategic Plan

External environment

Internal environment

Current services

Existing backlog

Existing plans Capacity

Capacity of existing people, technology,

budget, time, regulations

Build a Technology Roadmap

Understand the overall business strategy

– In lieu of a formal one, understand what the general direction is and the core values of the company

Pick a timeline. Agree with your peers. Make it as formal as possible.

Set financial impact and metrics (ROI!)

Build in governance

Communicate progress

Focus Areas

Inventory of technology

Sourcing

Applications

Data

Staff

• Costs

• Applications

Governance

There’s data driven, then…

IT Governance Model

Goes WAY beyond approval & review methodologies

Visibility into value driven by IT investments

Metrics and measurement of IT performance

Bi-directional communication forum

Getting approval and teaching others simultaneously

Business-impact decisions gain transparency

Determine Where Your Skills Lie

Applications

Data

Runtime

Middleware

O/S

Virtualization

Servers

Storage

Networking

C-Suite CIO

CFO/Owner

Talent Development

User education

Training/development

Educational opportunities

Leadership development

Coaching/mentoring

Finding and encouraging individual passions

Peeling Back the Onion: the Heart of an IT Person

challenged

respected

connected

recognized

Measuring and Managing Risk

Understand key people

HA vs. Backup

Weakest Link

Own your compliance needs

Risk assessment (not just compliance)

SLA’s, Warranties, etc…

Prepare for the bad guys. They ARE knocking at your door (I guarantee this) and will ruin your day very quickly.

Baby steps

Its really about managing expectations (360°)

Be realistic. You cannot balance everything.

Empowerment is liberating. Trust is key, but…

Accountability counts

Data Driven. Or is it focused?

Plan for the worst (at least imagine it happening)

Measure returns

Talk this through with stakeholders

THANK YOU, and Enjoy the Day!

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