Tech Function

How We Help Clients Design Their Tech Function

To establish a world-class tech function, business and technology must work together to define a joint vision of the six drivers of tech function excellence:

• The Operating Model. Companies should drive explicit alignment between business and technology towards a joint vision through a new operating model and value-based roadmap. To ensure value delivery, companies need to apply consistent governance across business processes, applications, data, and sourcing. The operating model design must address performance measurement as well as how deeply to embed green initiatives.
• AI and Data and Analytics. Many organizations have compelling use cases but find it difficult to scale them globally. Overcoming that difficulty requires high-quality data, a skilled workforce, and cloud adoption. Companies must also establish an enterprise data model and strategy that defines how data is stored. Ongoing governance is critical to maintaining quality and consistency.
• Technology Landscape. Companies should apply API-centric design as they build a modern technology landscape. This design usually includes a data layer that decouples legacy IT systems from the smart business layer, which allows companies to insert new functionalities or make quick and efficient changes. Companies also need to decide how aggressively to migrate to the cloud (be it a public or private cloud) and how to build a more modular infrastructure.
• Digital Talent and Processes. Organizations must build tech capabilities strategically. The tech function is core to the business, making the need to hire and retain tech talent critical. Companies need to rethink their employee value proposition and build critical and differentiating skills in-house.
• Excellence in Sourcing. It’s imperative to efficiently manage external expertise and optimize the vendor landscape to align the sourcing model. Digital platforms and ecosystems offer innovative and compelling ways to collaborate externally, but benefit can be achieved using other approaches: consolidating vendors and services, better aligning vendors, and working to reduce unused licenses.
• Cybersecurity. To get the most value from cybersecurity investments, companies need to understand the risks the company faces, its appetite for taking on more risk, and its defensive capabilities. But companies can’t afford to focus their investments and security efforts solely on their ability to ward off attacks. They must also ramp up to ensure that they can remain functional after they experience a breach.