07 August 2016

IT Transformation: Change Agent Journey into the Unknown...

The era of cloud computing is upon us and business innovation is rapidly adopting a new Information Technology strategy.  Planning for the business to be more adaptive, requires that the IT organization become more embedded with the functional leaders who are tasked with guiding the people, process and technology of the enterprise into the future.

Operational Risk Management (ORM) is about building an effective framework for business transformation executives at the CxO level to effectively coordinate and collaborate with the IT leadership.  Together, business and IT executives shall provide the organization and its customers with a seamless and almost undetectable transformation.

True "IT Transformation" has a trajectory to an unknown destination that is constantly adapting and becoming more agile.  It is a non-linear project plan, that is evolving towards a "Future State" where people and culture must change with it.  As a result, true "IT Transformation" requires experts in managing Operational Risks that encompass far more than just new cloud infrastructure for compute, storage, database and networking.

A culture transformation from an "As is" to a "Future State" is a professional services initiative that senior leaders are co-designing.  It is recognized that the vision of the future is still unknown as the business adapts to its environment and marketplace.  If you were an organization that had made the decision to move the business into international locations, how would you do that effectively?

An "IT Transformation" initiative to a new international marketplace requires far more time and resources.  The change mindset and culture shift for the employees will be imperative in order for the IT mechanisms to perform effectively and successfully.  How will this shift in business strategy impact the coding, architecture, inventory and customer service processes in the enterprise?
Let us be clear.  Transformation is different.  It is not "Developmental Change".  It is not "Transitional Change".  It requires a mindset, culture and systems change that operates in the unknown and where peoples emotions and behaviors are exaggerated.  It can't follow a linear project plan and that is why some organizations never attempt true transformation.
So what?  The decision for true "IT Transformation" requires a journey into the unknown yes, just as any explorer. This however also requires a mindset shift to that of the explorer, to prepare for the unknown and to plan for the contingencies to survive the trip.  Whether the journey is weeks or months does not matter.  There is always an opportunity to prepare before the launch.

 Consider these ORM categories as you begin the preparation for your true "IT Transformation":
  • Governance of Accounting (International pricing/regulatory compliance)
  • Access and Security Controls (Data privacy or legal considerations)
  • Asset Management
  • Application Risk (Availability, Disaster Recovery and backup)
  • Incident Triage and Continuous Monitoring
  • Configuration Change Management
  • Release and Deployment Management
 Now consider this:

Who will you embark on the journey with?  Who are the people in your organization that are ready, in condition and have the time to devote to your exploration journey?  What is each person currently working on and what is their particular "Powerbase" in the enterprise?

Now, who is the partner outside the organization that you will utilize as your "Change Agent"?  That change agent who is currently external to your company and enterprise is a vital choice.  How will the firm or company you choose to assist you in your transformation work with you side-by-side to endure the hardships, the emotions and the outcomes of the work ahead?

As your change agent team embarks on your "IT Transformation" journey, remember that the unknown is the reason that you were chosen.  You were chosen because your experience and skill sets add overall strength and resilience to the entire team.  The resilience of the team requires that you endure the journey until the objectives for innovation have been achieved.

Achieving the future state of your journey, puts you in a place you never imagined, because you have never been there before.  Yet the experience of getting there and the knowledge gained during the preparation, the team interaction and the accomplishments along the way, have made you a better person.  A trusted team member.

An "IT Transformation" professional...

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