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IT Strategic Planning

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Info-Tech Research Group 1


Overview of Service Offering

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Our strategic planning methodology is based on our OptimizeIT & BenchmarkIT programs

The BenchmarkIT and OptimizeIT programs were developed based on extensive

research into IT strategic planning best practices and consultation with our clients about

how they best achieve strategic Business/IT alignment

Our methodologies are constantly validated and updated based on customer feedback

Our results will provide an unbiased view of IT, based on a proven methodology and

industry leading research

Our methodology is executed by senior consultants with a strong understanding of the IT

function

• Typically, 10+ years of management consulting and/or operational experience

• Our approach includes integrating our senior research analysts in relevant topic areas

We will include a set of key notes, tools, and templates that represent leading practices

across key components of the IT strategies





Info-Tech generally recommends 8-12 allocated weeks to complete our IT Strategic Planning Methodology

Peer Benchmarking

(Phase 0)

Business – IT

Alignment

(Phase 1)

Application

Direction

(Phase 2)

Infrastructure

Direction

(Phase 3)

IT Organizational

Direction

(Phase 4)

IT Strategic Investment &

Value Roadmap

(Phase 5)

Set Conditions to

Achieve Alignment

Peer Benchmarking

(Phase 0)

Scan for Potentially

Enabling Technologies

Determine IT Value

Imperatives

Peer Benchmarking

(Phase 0)

Develop IT

Vision & Mission

Peer Benchmarking

(Phase 0)

Develop Application

Strategic Direction

Gather Baseline

Company Data

Peer Benchmarking

(Phase 0)

Determine Peer

Group

1 Week

(Net Execution)

2-3 Weeks 4-5 Weeks

These phases can be executed concurrently depending on the your team’s availability

Assess Current

Enterprise Applications

Develop Technical

Infrastructure Strategic

Direction

Assess Technical

Infrastructure

Alignment to Business

Objectives

Assess Current IT

Organizational

Structural Alignment

Assess Current IT

Capabilities

Determine IT Initiative

Priorities

Define Strategic IT

Initiatives

Prepare Strategic

Roadmap

Finalize Strategic Plan

Determine Budget

Impact

3 Weeks

Develop IT

Organizational

Strategic Direction

Analyze Results

& Develop Report





Phase 0 – Peer Benchmarking

Activities Description Deliverables

0.1 Collect Baseline Company Data We'll ask you some questions about your approach to IT strategy and use your answers to

establish a performance baseline and show how you compare with your peers, and

determine any modifications required to our strategic planning

Survey Questionnaire – Allows key

stakeholders to provide their input on the key

topic areas

0.2 Determine Peer Group We will determine a recommended best-fit peer group for you based on your answers to the

questionnaire. You can then choose to customize your Peer Group for maximum relevance

based on the demographic profiles of other IT organizations using the program. Peer group

criteria are based on the following criteria:

Industry & Business Orientation & Geographic arrangement

Revenue & Growth

Employee & IT staff

Peer Group Definition – Determine the

specific criteria of the peer group you wish to

be benchmarked against. This will determine

the overall sample size we are able to achieve

0.3 Analyze Results & Develop

Report

This step will generate the report that will allow you to review your benchmark results and

learn how your current performance compares to your desired state, and how you compare

to your peer group. Additionally, we will include recommendations on what the key focus

areas should be during the strategic IT planning process.

Benchmarking Report – A presentation that

outlines the benchmark findings, conclusions

and recommendations to the strategic IT

planning process. Note: Results will be based

on survey completions rates

Overview Outcomes

Benchmarking will help you assess your approach to IT strategic planning, by asking you a series of questions about the impact and

relevance of various aspects of your planning process. These results will be tabulated into a Benchmark Report which summarizes

your capabilities compared to a set of peers. This will address key questions, including:

Compare your IT practices to your industry peers. How do they allocate their resources?

What is important to them? How do you compare?

Quickly see where you stand in the IT

Maturity Matrix

Identify discrepancies between a IT strategic

planning importance and the time you spend

on it

See the opportunity for improvement to reach

your desired state





Sample Outputs – Peer Benchmarking

After completing our

benchmarking analysis, you

will have a view on where

your organization sits relative

to its peers





Phase 1 – Business/IT Alignment


1. Set Conditions to Achieve Alignment

1.1 Develop IT Value Imperatives

1.2 Obtain Stakeholder Support.

1.3 Set Parameters of the IT Strategy

1.4 Launch IT Strategy Initiative

The first task in aligning IT goals and objectives to those of the business is to establish a working

environment that promotes strategic objective setting and collaboration. A key factor in gaining alignment

is the support and commitment of business executives to your IT strategy and planning efforts.

Stakeholder Guidelines Document – Identifies

stakeholders in the strategic IT plan

Stakeholder Letter – A kick-off letter to stakeholder

the initiative / objectives

Kick-Off Meeting – A kick-off meeting and agenda to

start the strategic planning process

2. Scan for Potentially Enabling

Technologies

2.1 Scan for Potential Business Enabling

Technologies

Periodically, every enterprise should consider how advancements in technology or technology

management practices can be applied to drive business value. Advancements can be new product

announcements or new uses for proven technologies. Some organizations systematically monitor

industry developments to determine if and when a technology is right for them. However, since this

activity is not necessary every time you develop a strategy and may not be necessary for your situation,

Info~Tech considers it advanced.

IT Technology Monitor - Result of scanning the

marketplace for new technologies or new uses of

existing technologies. Helps to determine whether or

how a particular technology might add value to the

enterprise.

3. Determine IT Value Imperatives

3.1 Document Strategic Business

Objectives

3.2 Develop IT Value Imperatives

The key step in this program, clearly articulating how IT will contribute to business goals, sets the tone

and intent for the IT Strategy and Investment Roadmap. During this step, you will clearly confirm the

strategic priorities of the enterprise and propose specifically what IT must accomplish for the business to

achieve those priorities

IT Value Imperatives - Outlines what the business’s

information technologies must be capable of doing in

order to support and enable enterprise strategies.

4. Develop IT Vision and Mission

4.1 Conduct IT Visioning Working Session

4.2 Articulate IT’s Role, Objectives, and

Values.

Have you ever felt that the harmony of your organization is just a little off-key? When parts and pieces of

your organization seem to demonstrate different values and behaviors it may be time to refocus your

team. If it appears that business stakeholders don’t know what to expect from IT or expect widely differing

things, perhaps it’s time to clearly articulate the role of IT in the organization.

IT Vision & Mission - Describes the values and

behaviors the IT organization will adopt and portray to

best align with corporate values and objectives.

Overview Outcomes

The purpose of Business – IT Alignment phase is to optimize the value that IT contributes to the business. As such, in order to successfully outline a

strategic IT roadmap, it is important to start here. An organization has successfully aligned IT strategy to business strategy when there is:

A shared understanding of how IT applications, technologies and services will contribute to business objectives – today and in the future.

A shared focus on where to expend scarce resources, time and money; the tradeoffs the enterprise is prepared to make.

A credible working relationship between the IT organization and the rest of the business evidenced by reliable daily operations, responsive

problem management and predictable, innovative solution delivery.

Support from key executives to participate in

developing the IT Strategy.

An understanding of how emerging technologies,

applications and trends can or will impact your IT

organization.

Clear expectations of how IT will contribute to the

business goals and objectives.





Sample Outputs – Business/IT Alignment

Our approach is based

on clearly documenting

objectives and capturing

decisions

Our technology monitor

matrix shows what value

new technologies bring to

your organization





Phase 2 – Application Direction


5. Assess Current Enterprise Applications

5.1 Assess Alignment of Current

Enterprise Applications To Business

Objectives

The first task in developing an Application Strategy is to identify the current inventory of applications and

to assess the weaknesses and gaps in them in terms of achieving strategic objectives of the business.

The health of current applications and their ability to support the business as it changes strategically are

the critical elements of mapping a strategic direction.

Application Assessment - Evaluates how well

current applications are positioned to support

business objectives and strategies.

6. Set Application Portfolio Direction

6.1 Identify Opportunities to Improve

Strategic Alignment

Once you identify where the application is weak or missing capabilities needed to support business

objectives, you need to set the course for strengthening the application portfolio. At this stage in the

development of your IT strategy, application direction typically involves determining how best to fill the

gaps in your portfolio both for current operations and new initiatives that may be introduced by other

departments.. Based on your application directions documented above, you will want to begin

documenting what will be required, what the expected outcomes will be and what benefits the business

will receive as a result.

Application Improvements - Describes major, high-

level application changes and additions required to

realize corporate strategies.

Overview Outcomes

The Application Direction phase is designed to answer the key questions of how well will our current portfolio of applications help us achieve the

business’s top priorities and what additions, improvements and changes are necessary in the near-term, medium-term, and long-term.

As an analogy, let’s say you are considering the purchase of a vacation property in the country. When you see the property, you can imagine what you

want it to be like – the landscaping, the house, and the outbuildings. These are your objectives. Then you consider what you have – the existing home

and buildings, the current access road and the trees and shrubs that are already there. Which do you keep? Which do you tear out? Where will you

renovate and where will you build new?

Just as the development plan for your new country property needs to consider those things, your Application Strategy needs to consider the health of

existing applications and their suitability in the future of the enterprise.

An inventory of current applications.

A good understanding of how well current

applications are suited to support business strategic

priorities.

A set of improvement opportunities to fill in gaps or

to make improvements to the application portfolio.





Sample Outputs – Application Direction

E-MAIL

Exchange

ONC Mailer

Silver Pop

WEB

Search Engine

Perseus

Web site

Web Tracking Software

CRM

REPORTING

Web Trends

Intranet

ERP

Financials

Acc Pacc

Infrastructure

Phone Tracking

Help Desk Apps

Sales

HR

SAGE Abra

DESKTOP

MS Office

Benefits

Our scan of the business

identifies gaps in application

functionality

The application

direction captures

your current state

and future state

migration strategy





Phase 3 – Infrastructure Direction


7. Assess Current Technical

Infrastructure

7.1 Assess Alignment of Technical

Infrastructure to Solution Priorities

and Business Objectives

7.2 Identify Technical Infrastructure

Gaps

The first task in developing an Infrastructure Direction is to identify weaknesses and gaps in

the current computing and networking technologies in terms of achieving strategic

objectives of the business. The health of current technical components and their ability to

support the business as it changes strategically is the critical element of mapping a

strategic direction. Once an inventory is complete, the search for gaps begins. A technical

infrastructure gap can be a weakness or hole in your computing and networking platforms.

Infrastructure Assessment - Evaluates how

well current technical infrastructure elements

are positioned to support business objectives

and strategies.

8. Develop Technical Infrastructure

Strategic Direction

8.1 Set Technical Infrastructure

Direction

8.2 Identify Technical Infrastructure

Improvement Opportunities

Once you identify where the infrastructure is weak or missing capabilities needed to support

business objectives, you need to set the course for strengthening technical platforms. At

this stage in development of your IT strategy, technical infrastructure direction typically

involves identifying components of the computing or networking platform that will need to be

added or replaced during the life of the strategy.

Infrastructure Improvements - Describes

major, high-level technical infrastructure

changes and additions required to support

application directions and to realize corporate

strategies.

Overview Outcomes

Your Infrastructure Direction needs to consider the health of existing infrastructure components and their suitability in the future of

the enterprise.

The Infrastructure Direction phase was designed to answer the key questions of how well will our current computing and networking

technologies help us achieve the business’s top priorities and what additions, improvements and changes are necessary in the near-

term, medium-term, and long-term?

An inventory of current technical infrastructure

components.

A good understanding of how well current

infrastructure is suited to support your

strategic priorities.

A set of improvement opportunities to fill in

gaps or to make improvements to the

computing infrastructure.





Sample Outputs – Infrastructure Direction

The infrastructure direction

will outline what

infrastructure components

will be kept, enhanced,

retired, replaced or added

Infrastructure gaps will be

clearly identified and

documented to inform our

recommendations





Phase 4 – IT Organizational Direction


9. Assess Current IT Capabilities

9.1 Assess IT Capabilities

A capability is an umbrella term that describes how an organization performs an activity. A

capability is a combination of people, processes and technology. The first task in

developing an IT Organization Direction is to identify weaknesses and gaps in current

capabilities, particularly testing for how ready the organization is to support the strategic

objectives of the business. The health of current technical components and their ability to

support the business as it changes strategically is the critical element of mapping a

strategic direction.

IT Capability Assessment - Evaluates how

well current skills of the IT organization are

positioned to support business objectives and

strategies.

10. Assess Current IT Organizational

Structure Alignment

10.1 Assess IT Organizational

Alignment

An organizational structure is more than just reporting lines or workgroups. The

organization must be designed so that resources can be marshaled and deployed to best

meet business expectations. The next task in developing an IT Organization Direction is to

understand how well the current structure of the IT organization is positioned to support

how the business expects to operate in the future. Determine whether structural changes

are needed to improve communications, interaction with the business, and service levels.

IT Organizational Assessment - Evaluates

how well the current IT organizational structure

aligns to the organizational structure of the

business.

11. Develop IT Organizational

Strategic Direction

11.1 Identify IT Organizational Gaps

11.2 Set Organizational Direction

11.3 Identify Organizational

Improvement Opportunities

Assess whether changes in application or technology directions will require changes to the

organization. Once you identify where alignment issues, organizational holes, or interaction

confusion exist, you need to set the course for changing the structure of the organization.

IT Organizational Improvements - Describes

major, high-level IT organization structure and

skill changes and additions required to realize

corporate strategies.

Overview Outcomes

Many companies focus exclusively on the technology aspects of the IT Strategy ignoring the fact that it is often the human factors

that have a more direct impact on overall strategy success. As we help develop your IT Strategy, we will consider how well the IT

organization is positioned to deliver it and following key questions:

What are the strengths and weaknesses of our IT organization – our services, our skills, and our processes?

In particular, how ready are we to do our part to act on the business’s priorities?

What changes do we need to make in how we deliver IT services in the near-term, medium-term, and long-term?

What decision making framework needs to be in place to ensure transparent and effective decision making?

A good understanding of the organization’s

strengths and opportunities for improvement.

Ideas for how well the organizational structure

supports delivery of IT services and

interaction with the business.

A set of opportunities to improve skills,

processes, and organizational alignment.





Sample Outputs – IT Organizational Direction

Using our industry staffing benchmark

data and application and infrastructure

needs, we will determine an optimal

staffing allocation and structure

We typically quantify the specific

Organizational improvement

opportunities to enable their detailed

review by IT and HR management





Phase 5 - IT Strategic Investment & Value Roadmap


12. Define Strategic IT Initiatives

12.1 Evaluate and Select Initiative

Options

12.2 Assess Current IT Projects and

Initiatives

12.3 Define Strategic Initiatives for IT

You now have a set of opportunities to improve the application portfolio, enhance technical

infrastructure and strengthen the IT organization. You now need to turn those opportunities

into action and describe what needs to be done.

IT Capability Assessment - Evaluates how

well current skills of the IT organization are

positioned to support business objectives and

strategies.

13. Determine IT Initiative Priorities

13.1 Prioritize Strategic IT Initiatives

So now you have a list of initiatives that can be linked back to the priorities of business units

and the enterprise. However, most companies do not have unlimited funds and resources

available to do these projects. During this step, you will prioritize IT initiatives based on

strategic value.

Prioritized Project List - Combines

improvement needs for applications,

infrastructure, and organization with existing

planned projects to develop a comprehensive

master list of strategic IT initiatives, prioritized

based on strategic performance.

14. Prepare Strategic Roadmap

14.1 Identify Pre/Post Requisites

14.2 Estimate Key Delivery

Milestones

Assess whether changes in application or technology directions will require changes to the

organization. Once you identify where alignment issues, organizational holes, or interaction

confusion exist, you need to set the course for changing the structure of the organization.

IT Implementation Roadmap – A high-level

project summary that outlines the list of

projects, key delivery milestones and inter-

project dependencies.

Overview Outcomes

Prior to starting this phase, you know all of the things that IT could do to help support business objectives and priorities. Now you

need to sort through what IT should do, when and how. The purpose of the IT Investment and Value Roadmap phase is to take all of

the improvement opportunities, Applications, Technology and Organization, and:

Evaluate their relative importance based on business value and cost.

Determine interdependencies (e.g., need to develop a new skill-set before adopting a piece of technology).

Combine opportunities into projects.

Set milestones for completing projects over the planning horizon.

Estimate the impact of the investments required on the IT budget.

An agreed list of key projects or initiatives.

Agreed priority, sequence and timing for

strategic initiatives.

Recognition of the implications of the IT

strategy on the IT budget.





Phase 5 - IT Strategic Roadmap (Continued)


15. Determine Budget Impacts

15.1 Forecast Expenditures to

Complete Strategic Initiatives

15.2 Prepare Business Case for the

IT Strategy

Your roadmap lays out your commitments to deliver technologies, solutions and services

over the course of your strategic planning horizon. To meet those commitments, you may

need additional financial and human resources. For many organizations, this may be

straightforward. However, if your strategy is likely to require significant additional resources,

consider following the advanced steps outlined here.

Compare your current capital and expense budget, and your headcount plans, to the

resources required to deliver against your milestones. Forecast the financial and human

resources required to meet your commitments. Now you need to establish the timetable for

your strategy; to determine when your organization will deliver its contribution to business

objectives.

IT Strategy Business Case - Determines the

financial implications of the IT strategy on the

IT budget and compares investments required

with the business benefits associated with the

strategy.

16. Finalize Strategic Plan

16.1 Develop Final Report

You have determined the role of IT in achieving the strategy of the business. You have

outlined sets of projects and initiatives, and laid out a series of milestones.

Now is the time to communicate how your organization will contribute business value over

the next few fiscal quarters. You will explain your organization’s priorities and how your

projects will support and enable strategic business objectives. During this step, your primary

objective is to gain support and commitment from business management to your strategic

roadmap.

IT Strategic Plan - A summary document that

highlights the priorities of the IT organization.

Overview Outcomes

Prior to starting this phase, you know all of the things that IT could do to help support business objectives and priorities. Now you

need to sort through what IT should do, when and how. The purpose of the IT Investment and Value Roadmap phase is to take all of

the improvement opportunities, Applications, Technology and Organization, and:

Evaluate their relative importance based on business value and cost.

Determine interdependencies (e.g., need to develop a new skill-set before adopting a piece of technology).

Combine opportunities into projects.

Set milestones for completing projects over the planning horizon.

Estimate the impact of the investments required on the IT budget.

An agreed list of key projects or initiatives.

Agreed priority, sequence and timing for

strategic initiatives.

Recognition of the implications of the IT

strategy on the IT budget.





Sample Outputs – IT Strategic Investment & Value Roadmap

Our approach includes the

development of a business

case and the quantification

of the business costs and

benefits

Additionally, our roadmap

includes the prioritization and

timing of new IT initiatives


it strategic planning - info-tech research groupstatic.infotech.com/downloads/itrg - strategy...

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