Optimal strategy for technology investment
Using technology and seeking out cost savings. This could entail decreasing or terminating subscriptions or maintenance and support agreements for current investments, as well as postponing or cancelling new initiatives and acquisitions. Cost optimization, increasing the return on resource investment, and making sure you choose the best option when it comes to sourcing are more crucial than ever.
How much optimization costs ?
"The goal of cost optimization is to maximize business value by driving spending and reducing costs through a continuous, business-focused discipline." It includes:
- Obtaining the best pricing and terms for all business purchases
- Standardizing, simplifying and rationalizing platforms, applications, processes and services
- Automating and digitalizing IT and business operations”
It is preferable to use the technology term “rightsizing.”
How to maximize current investments ?
Enterprises possessing advanced IT, ITAM, and SAM departments inform us that although they have appropriately sized their contracts and reduced wastage of unwanted products, they continue to observe underutilization of products, with just a restricted feature set being utilized. In these cases, we:
- Work with IT and business stakeholders to see whether you can do more with your existing investments.
- Consider providing ‘update’ or ‘revision’ training or even coaching from more experienced users who are using more features.
- Increasing awareness on saving time and cost towards training, rework and maintenance
- Increasing need on scalability of IT products/services for the multiple devices
- Transparent project status and clear communication at all levels
- Deeper understanding of each other’s working styles leading to long-term benefits
Maximizing the return on new investments
It’s important to keep in mind that installing and configuring even the most basic IT systems takes some effort, and the more complicated your environment, the more caution you must use.
Key factors in selecting the right solution include:
- Getting C-level sponsorship and support for the investment by clearly illustrating how it supports current business priorities and objectives
- Providing clarity on the objectives, business outcomes and success criteria, as well as the mechanisms for measuring success and tracking benefits
- Involving all stakeholders in developing requirements and identifying benefits
- Creating a clear list of ‘must haves’ and shortlisting only those vendors who meet these criteria before issuing an RFP
- Understanding how this solution fits in with your short, medium, and long-term initiatives.
To maximize the return on your recent technological investment, you need
Be well-prepared, with goals and outcomes in mind. Make sure your vision matches the offerings of the new technology vendor.
To guarantee that the implementation is completed correctly, allocate enough funds for it, taking into account any system or process linkages. Make sure the third-party service provider is certified and educated by the vendor if you plan to use them for the deployment.
Reduce the time to value and ROI period by having governance, people, and processes in place and ready to take advantage of the technology when it is implemented.
Determine who the important technology users and stakeholders are, then devote some of their time to system maintenance.
Determine the sources of your data and evaluate their quality to create metrics that accurately and comprehensively measure the data and pinpoint areas that want improvement.
Training should be provided both initially and continuously, and it should be phased so that end users have time to become familiar with the features and functions they have acquired before receiving additional instruction. Make sure new users receive the necessary training as well.
Adopt a phased strategy to show the return on initial investments and enable benefits to be delivered early in the project. according to organizational structure and business objectives, either by location, by business unit, or by environment.
Before allowing any outside consultants make sure upskilling in place and have necessary arrangements for the same.
Having information is crucial before take decisions, whether you’re trying to make new investments or adjust ones. Focus on mitigate lower risk, increase resilience, and maximize the return on your present technological investments.
