Competing in the marketplace today requires technology and data-enabled strategies.
The past year has created a need to rely on technology more than ever to operate business as usual. Most industries now rely heavily on technology and information to move forward. Before the pandemic, many companies may have acknowledged this need, but very few were making steps to embrace it fully. Companies that align technology, data and business strategy will thrive on being informed, efficient and innovative.
By leveraging our client’s people, processes, data and technologies, we create strategies aligned to their business goals. Our team has created roadmaps that address the gaps in client’s capabilities to manage existing data assets using governance processes, change management and technology implementation. We have helped organizations with their cloud architecture strategies for application implementation by considering the constraints of staff size, technology knowledge and budgets. Our approach to building these strategies leaves our clients better.
Strategy Development Framework
In a previous role, I provided input on a framework developed to help organizations create a data strategy. I recently went back and revisited the framework and compared it to our existing approach. Both frameworks overlap as they focus on technology and data to enable businesses to create value. What follows is an adaptation of how we help organizations think about strategy development. It can be divided into two major parts, each having two main activities.
Assessment
The activities that are necessary to gain a thorough understanding of where you want to be versus where you are.
- Business Need – What is going to create value for the business? Why do you need to change? The need is often found in an organization‘s business strategy, objectives or KPI‘s.
- Current State – Where is an organization today (people, process, technology), and how ready is it to accept change? We need an understanding of the technology and data debt or existing assets.
The assessment activities focus on understanding an organization by its technical capabilities and the business’s need to create new opportunities. The divide between the need and the current state of the business allows us to derive a solution or set of solutions to better the organization. This divide might be addressed by technology or new data analysis but can often require changes in process or employees. Our approach looks at all of these things so that our recommendations take a crawl, walk, run approach to development.
Future State
This phase of the process allows us to take the major inputs from the assessment activities and create a vision for moving forward.
- Solution – Define what will bridge the gap between the need and the current state. Understand what is strategic for moving the organization forward.
- Roadmap – Solutions can often be substantial multi-phase activities. A roadmap may require technology or process changes with dependencies to consider. This activity lays out the path forward for the development of the technology or data strategy.
Our consultants thoroughly enjoy building the future state for our clients. Driven by the latest technology and developments in data management, we create unique solutions through a management consulting approach focusing on people and processes. Often the gaps identified in the assessment phase lead to multiple solutions. Part of defining the roadmap is how to prioritize and lay out the solutions over time so that they create incremental value while addressing major pain points or market opportunities.
UDig can help you determine your next steps forward when it comes to aligning your business strategy with your technology and data strategy. Check out the following case study to see how we can leave you better:
Roadmap Provided Mid-Sized Bank with a Strategy to Foster a Data-Driven Decision Culture
Additionally, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn. I am always willing to talk about your challenges and discuss potential approaches. Let’s unlock the hidden potential in your organization.
