IT Strategy Archives - Page 10 of 14 - Innovate. Integrate. Transform. Run.

Aligning SAP Scope to Meaningful Business Requirements
Aligning SAP Scope to Meaningful Business Requirements

Aligning SAP Scope to Meaningful Business Requirements

By Bill Wood|April 13th, 2010|

I am always amazed at how many projects miss one of the most important (and relatively simple) scoping requirements. The worst part is that projects don’t just miss it, but they get it completely backward! After doing SAP projects since 1994, I still cannot believe SAP’s customers don’t use the old “Seven Habits” step of starting with the end in mind. What do I mean by that? Start Your SAP Project with Reports and Business Requirements Why do so many projects wait until they are live with some [...]

IT Outsourcing, Off Shore Support, Cost Cutting and IT Department Changes
IT Outsourcing, Off Shore Support, Cost Cutting and IT Department Changes

IT Outsourcing, Off Shore Support, Cost Cutting and IT Department Changes

By Bill Wood|March 23rd, 2010|

Businesses everywhere are looking to shore up their bottom lines by cutting costs. As a result, cost centers such as IT departments are prime targets for outsourcing and offshore maintenance. The typical business script is that as the IT organization moves into maintenance mode, cost centers with high overhead become a prime target for reducing costs. However, despite how things might appear, cost is not the real driver of IT outsourcing. The real driver of IT outsourcing is function. IT departm [...]

Outsourcing Your SAP Application Support
Outsourcing Your SAP Application Support

Outsourcing Your SAP Application Support

By Bill Wood|March 20th, 2010|

I believe it was Peter Drucker who opined about outsourcing and then wrote a book on the subject. The original premise was that low-level administrative functions that were not a key or core focus of the business (such as mail rooms) could be outsourced. Fast forward several years, and business has learned that virtually all non-value add functions can be outsourced. IT infrastructure was value add as long as something new or better could be developed to provide cost savings, efficienc [...]

Social Media Fads and the Risk to the Enterprise
Social Media Fads and the Risk to the Enterprise

Social Media Fads and the Risk to the Enterprise

By Bill Wood|March 17th, 2010|

Today's IT landscape is filled with hype around Web 2.0. While collaboration is a key forward-looking initiative for any organization, social media requires a specific purpose and goal. Without a clear direction and purpose for social media initiatives, they are at best a distracting fad, and at worst an enterprise disaster. When I look at today's social media applications, I see them as a fad. Popular today, and they will be around for a while, but like all social outlets they are waiting for [...]

Sales, Software Selection Scams, and Performing Your Own Software Selection
Sales, Software Selection Scams, and Performing Your Own Software Selection

Sales, Software Selection Scams, and Performing Your Own Software Selection

By Bill Wood|March 11th, 2010|

A while back, I did a proposal to help a fairly large retailer do a software and vendor selection. Because of my many years of experience with SAP, they were concerned about whether I could be objective and unbiased. That is not only a fair question, but a critically important question. I decided to approach this sales presentation effort differently by providing solid, verifiable, and objective methods to evaluate software fit as well as vendor fit. Although the client company was gracious, acc [...]

From Collaboration to Innovation to Market – Toward a Working Model
From Collaboration to Innovation to Market – Toward a Working Model

From Collaboration to Innovation to Market – Toward a Working Model

By Bill Wood|March 9th, 2010|

Too often today, I see hype around various social interaction methods in the enterprise. Some companies even talk about internally adopting social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets may provide tremendous outlets for interacting with customers, gathering market intelligence, or promoting your brand. However, they can be more destructive than productive. Collaborative initiatives without a specific business purpose are disasters waitin [...]