Intelligent CIO North America Issue 15 | Page 38

TALKING

‘‘ business

It is a balancing act between speed , agility and scalability and there is still much to learn .
with a constant eye on the ball : the intended business results .
2 . IT governance and transformation
The role of an IT organization is a major factor in Digital Transformation .
It ’ s not uncommon for a company to already have a rich product range of innovative digital services such as apps and websites . However , these services don ’ t always scale well , making transformation complex . To support your Digital Transformation , IT needs to be given the priority it deserves in the boardroom and decisions over IT infrastructure must be made carefully and by the right people .
As in many companies , IT organization is usually made up of a business layer , facilitated by data , enterprise resource planning and infrastructure layers on which parts of the business can develop their solutions . Certain guidelines need to be followed at all levels . In these cases , IT should use a framework for their governance , but it ’ s important to remember that the framework should be as light as possible to ensure flexibility .
3 . Clear communication
Another key element in Digital Transformation is human dynamics .
It ’ s important to be open and clear with colleagues from the start about everyone ’ s responsibilities and flag any potential issues .
You do not want the wrong decisions on how to develop IT functionality being made by certain individuals without involving the rest of the business . To ensure smooth collaboration , consider organizing a series of workshops to help decide how best to manage IT governance .
Having clear guidelines and policies for IT is critical as teams or individuals can make the wrong decisions without proper IT expertise and guidance , potentially costing the business money or compromising security .
It could be that an agile approach works best when it comes to IT organization . Specifically cutting out a management layer and assigning certain projects to teams can be efficient and effective .
The idea of servant leadership , so facilitating teams and giving them more control and responsibility , is often met with great hesitation . For many of today ’ s digital leaders , it is not easy to let go of decision making , to let the business take the role of product owner and to lead the teams from a distance .
However , sharing responsibility in this way can be a powerful tool to help facilitate Digital Transformation . It is a balancing act between speed , agility and scalability and there is still much to learn .
4 . Driving success
Planning and guidance are the keys to success , so a comprehensive roadmap is helpful .
The role of IT governance is also becoming increasingly important to steer transformation and some organizations are now implementing a framework to support with this .
The real drivers behind your Digital Transformation though will be your people , so remember to be inclusive and collaborative and above all be honest and clear about responsibilities and roles . p
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