GovernanceTips for Midmarket IT Leaders

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What is Governance?

“ Governance is the decision framework and process by which enterprises make investment decisions and drive business value. Period.(1)

(1) Governance Best Practices for Midmarket IT Leaders, Gartner, 16 May 2014

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Small companies grow to be midmarket companies.

Midmarket companies grow to a point where governance becomes important in order to reach next levels of growth and competitive advantage, as well as to drive compliance initiatives.

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Why?Because companies that perform governance well are proven to outperform companies that don’t.

IT investments will create business value because they will be driven by business strategy and measured for effectiveness.

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Books are written about governance. Organizations are devoted to the practice. It’s easy to conclude that effective governance is

complex and overly time consuming. It doesn’t have to be, especially for midmarket firms.

While certainly not a definitive list, the

points that follow will help guide you in the

right direction.

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Company leadership must define the

strategic direction and the capabilities

necessary to win in the marketplace.

Decisions about every investment, not just IT,

flow from that.

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Assign an individual or team...

1...to identify, prioritize and measure investments in the capabilities necessary to drive the strategic direction set by the executive office. Without on-going executive commitment, the process will fail.

Assign an individual or team...

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...on what the business criteria and metrics will be to evaluate and justify investments, as well as the principles that will guide decision-making (e.g. build vs. buy, sourcing preferences, carbon footprint, etc.)

2 Come to agreement...

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...and effectively to the organization. Reinforce how projects and purchases align with and support the corporate strategy.

3Communicate regularly...

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...show that the process works and to garner companywide

support for additional projects and investments.4

Get a quick win...

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Link governance to key corporate themes......such as cost reduction, standardization, customer satisfaction, simplification or compliance, for example.

5

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6Procedural or cultural changes are difficult for people to accept. Incorporate the human factor into planning and implementation and allow sufficient time for adjustment.

Expect resistance.

Remember to communicate

the intentions and expected

outcomes.

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...governance with multiple committees, complex procedures and templates, or monitoring and reporting overkill. This may only create more resistance and undermine program effectiveness and support.

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7Resist over-engineering...

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8Do not allow....

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...governance arrangements and structure to supplant innovation, agility and creativity. That is a lose/lose proposition.

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9Don’t Confuse......governance with project management or good management practices. Remember, governance is a decision-making framework. A project may still fail. Understanding how and why it failed is an important part of the process.

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10...with the corporate strategy and always measure results against intended goals and objectives. Create an exception plan in order to smoothly adapt in a thoughtful manner to changing market or competitive conditions.

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Regularly assess alignment...Regularly assess alignment...

For more tips or to chat with a Solution’s Engineer call:

866-473-2510or go online: Peak10.com.

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Maintaining Compliance is critical.

Maintaining Compliance is critical.