One of the questions that consultants must always answer is how to win client work. Clients issue RFPs and they employ scoring criteria to select consultants. The scoring criteria are typically centered around technical competency and commercial arrangements. Clients’ procurement teams will lead the charge, score the vendors, and go through the selection processes.
Architecture changes are hard. An MVP approach to architecture can eliminate many of the problems current architecture design faces. Instead of PowerPoint marketecture (i.e., architecture in a nice picture, as marketing brochures), an MVP for architecture would enable architects to design the key components, test the feasibility, and identify any underlying challenges. This way they don’t have to wait until late application development stages to realize the underlying architecture issues. In 2001, I was a part of the team that helped a major payment network re-engineer its mainframe based transaction process systems. Sixteen years later,
Leading companies are increasingly using annual reports to discuss their digital ambitions and their journey to become a technology empowered company. In the annual reports, they clearly articulated their technology vision, their accomplishments so far, and their future digital direction. Companies are even launching Technology Committee in their Board of Directors to further elevate technology’s positioning within their companies. As more and more companies shift towards making technology an essential part of their businesses, discussions on technology strategy will become a core part of every annual report. As technology becomes the driving force for companies
To make technology matter more, companies need to understand the underlying drivers for the magnitude of achieved technology impact. Having worked with many organizations across the world on similar topics, I have designed a formula to illustrate how to amplify the technology impact, i.e., how to make technology matter more: There are four underlying areas that will drive the magnitude of the technology impact: Application: Identify opportunities to apply technologies to external and internal products/services and business processes to create concrete business impact Adoption: Design the user desirable products and drive change management, especially with
Many companies already have mature business processes in place and core systems such as ERP/MRP and HR/Payroll systems installed to help automate such processes. These companies are now asking the questions of what to do with those processes during digital transformation. The good news is that even the most mature business processes will have Process Bugs and exceptions. The bugs and exceptions can be quality issues, compliance issues, data issues, and performance variances. Fixing the process bugs and addressing those exceptions using technology typically increase companies’ overall operational efficiency by 15-30%. This is a no-regret
Data is an asset. But it is also a liability. Data quality issues, when not managed correctly, would become a critical enterprise risk. KPMG’s 2016 Global CEO Outlook reported that 84% of CEOs were concerned about the quality of data that they based their decisions on. However, there are 7 inconvenient truths of data quality that if ignored, it will make companies’ data quality improvement initiatives much more difficult to generate impact. Companies should proactively address the fundamental root causes and design necessary changes accordingly. Data quality improvement projects are one of the top 3
Post COVID-19, technology’s stature within companies will continue to rise. Companies will make strategic portfolio shifts and redesign its global supply chain. Working remotely will likely to stay. More investment will be made to business continuity. All these changes will add to the major digital and technology investment companies are already making to make technology an essential part of their businesses. However, companies will also likely seek more shift in IT portfolio itself to invest scarce resources in most strategic areas. Here are some predictions on how IT will likely shift post COVID-19. As Yogi
What books should budding consultants read? How can consultants build the skills to solve clients’ most urgent issues, build long lasting client relationships, and continue to evolve consultants’ own toolkit? Are there good books that can help? Over my course of consulting careers, seven books have helped me tremendously. For every vacation, I will take one and try to re-read, refresh, and rejuvenate myself using the wisdoms imparted from the books. Over the last 20 years, the one question that I get asked over and over again by both MBA students during the campus interviews
Globally, a number of technology giants such as Amazon and Alibaba are getting into the consulting space. They are not only providing advisory services on the implementation of their hardware and software capabilities, they are also starting to become the advisers on digital strategy and digital transformation. What is driving their thinking? Is consulting the next industry the tech giants are going to disrupt? An interesting recent trend of digital transformation is that a number of technology giants are getting into strategy and management consulting. Some recent developments include: Amazon is significantly expanding its professional
Technology transformation is often similar to replacing an airplane’s jet engine while flying at 39,000 FT in the air. Past approaches to technology transformation took too long and often didn’t create immediate benefits. By the time the transformation was finished, not only the technology chosen was already obsolete again, and business was also still frustrated with the pace of technology changes. A new approach to technology transformation is required. Here are the 7 levers that will allow companies to accelerate the transformation. While digital transformation often focuses on leveraging technology to change business models, products
“Technology doesn’t matter” – this was my opening when I was giving a “Future of IT” presentation to the IT executive team of one of the largest oil companies in the world.
To make technology matter more, companies need to understand the underlying drivers for the magnitude of achieved technology impact. Having worked with many organizations across the world on similar topics, I have designed a formula to illustrate how to amplify the technology impact, i.e., how to make technology matter more.