Planning will always be important when it comes to managing change and technology refresh cycles. The challenge is to not let established planning cycles become a blocker to IT-driven business improvement or IT innovation
“We’ve always done it this way,” or so the famous last words go. A perennial challenge for IT and business leaders are balancing the need for stability with the desire for change. However, in the fast-paced world of information technology development not accepting change can be much more detrimental to the business as any risk associated with new IT programs.
How we manage IT must evolve from being reactive to a business requirement to being more flexible and an enabler of new business. There will always be a need for “business-driven IT”, but that can’t stop business leaders from using IT to enable innovation and create new opportunities.
Be bold, not risky
To keep up with technology change and transform IT flexibility, we need to take risks at some point. There is, however, a clear difference between driving change and driving chance. With the right checks and balances in place it is possible to try new things without jeopardising existing systems and revenue streams.
If we institute an “agile” culture through the organisation we can accept change more readily and not expose the business to legacy systems and processes which will one day require very disruptive overhauls.
Help with IT change is now more accessible
If your lines of business and IT department are struggling with accepting IT innovation it might also be time to look at the many options for help with new technology or IT strategy map adoption. The IT industry has no shortage of cloud services, consultants and managed service providers to help drive change. Don’t wait for the next planning cycle to start making a difference.