When a company plans to shift from one IT state to another, its IT transformation must be overseen by a CIO or qualified technical expert. One of the main expectations of a CIO is to improve business efficiency. In order to upgrade IT to a better state, the CIO must also stay updated on security vulnerabilities and technology compatibility. Here are ways to ensure proper IT transformation toward a new framework.
Planning Ahead
The main concern of the planning stage is to make sure IT and business goals are in sync. It’s a time to evaluate how IT can help bring strategic value to the company. Certain workloads or applications may need to be improved. Management may decide it’s easier to outsource certain services.
Careful Assessment
Beginning with IT inventory, management must assess which processes are helping the company meet its goals and which ones create a strain on the system. Every type of technology from data centers to applications must be examined thoroughly. Utilization rates and operational costs must be compared with industry norms to learn where budget cuts are necessary. It’s a time to ask questions about scalability and IoT issues.
Designing the Framework
The design phase applies to application, workflow, and process transformation. During this phase management must establish a budget and timeline. It begins with a vision of how the ideal IT department will look, and involves long-term decisions on merging IT with business.
The decision makers for each element of IT must be identified and considered for the expertise they bring to the organization. Their input will help shape a sustainable business strategy and plan. During this phase the CIO must sort out how security, hardware, and networking are organized. It’s helpful to create a list of potential service partners and answer questions about ROI.
Migration Phase
Migration is the key turning point in IT transformation. This stage begins with management deciding what needs to move, whether it’s data centers, databases, or applications. Usually starting small, such as moving email to the cloud, then easing into the migration process works well.
A move will be much more organized if it involves a continuity and contingency plan that allows the company to continue running its business during migration. It’s a time to create strategies for eliminating or reducing downtime during the transition. A migration service provider can help pressure test the migration plan. Technicians must test the code of applications to make sure it will work in the cloud.
Refinement and Optimization
Once the migration is complete, the next phase is to work out the nuances of new management processes. By this point either administrative responsibilities have been streamlined or they’ve been taken over by a service provider. CIOs need to make sure at this stage that their system integrates well with external service providers.
The optimization stage completes the IT transformation project, as it ensures that IT and business goals are aligned. The CIO must further evaluate how well IT is focused on application performance and that workload optimization has continuity. IT must also be driven by measurable performance and work as an empowering culture for employees.
Conclusion
IT transformation is the process of moving from one IT state to another in the most efficient way. The end result is a more cost efficient business in which processes are optimized. These improvements should help companies attract the best possible technical talent.