- The Global Recession - IT's Role, Impact and Future
30 Apr 09 | Position Papers
In this paper, we seek to provide a broad overview of IT's surprisingly important – and not sufficiently recognised – role in the current recession, as well as the effects of the recession on Enterprise IT. It will appeal not only to the CIO community but also the business leader community by exposing you to ideas and stimulating discussion. In the first half of the document, we explain how in many ways this recession was enabled and exacerbated by IT. The second section looks closely at Enterprise IT and the IT industry itself, and lastly we look ahead as history shows us that deep recessions often clear the way for new and more productive economic landscapes. Finally, we highlight a few individuals who we believe are ahead of tomorrow’s curve.
Read David Moschella on Financial Times (24 July 2009) discussing Recession Reveals the Dark Side of Advanced IT
Read David Moschella on Investors Business Daily (24 June 2009) discussing Did Complicated High Tech Help Spur Meltdown?
Read David Moschella on Forbes.com (1 June 2009) discussing IT's Role in the Recession
Read David Moschella on BusinessWeek (11 May 2009) discussing Are We Losing Control of Technology?
- Business/IT Co-Evolution - Rethinking Strategy and Risk
1 Oct 09 | Presentation
Business and technology change are now inseparable, and can no longer be discussed or analysed in isolation. Each is pushing the other in a process we have labelled as business/IT co-evolution. In this emerging world, business and technology change increasingly occur at the same speed, challenging traditional industry structures, management orthodoxies, and risk management assumptions. In this session, David will assess the state of business/IT co-evolution today and over the next five years, while defining the broad parameters of economic, technological and social change, and their implications for the individual firm.
See event: The Future of IT (1 October 2009)
- Customer Service Strategies and the Role of IT
31 Jul 09 | Single Topic Reports
IT services are a key route to adding business value and resilience in a recession. Essentially, our research shows firms are becoming more specialised or more integrated so as to create better experiences for their customers. They are moving rapidly into new, innovative services and organisation models are becoming more complex as firms seek to address a multitude of new markets at various stages of development.
Enterprise IT is well positioned to play a major role in services because services generally require a closer cooperation between the business unit and IT than is often the case in products. But to seize this growing role, IT must become much more aware of the business design issues that make all the difference in determining the profitability or ‘stickiness’ of a customer service offering.
This report can help you and your colleagues understand the value that IT can offer in creating attractive business services to better serve your customers and provides key case studies of how certain organisations are already succeeding in this area. The report will appeal not only to CIOs but also any business leader interested in product marketing, innovation and business strategy.
Further information
If you would like to understand this topic further and its implications for your organisation, contact your Account Representative.
- Client Centric Strategies for Coping with Recession
30 Jun 09 | Presentation
In the past few months our clients have all been severely impacted by the gathering recession, and many of them are taking steps to adjust and reconfigure their offerings for bad times. Recent LEF research in innovation and services strategy suggests that the first consideration should be to improve the customer’s experience and ensure that the offering is presented in the form most likely to help the customer cope with the recession. Some are bundling services with their products to increase their attractiveness, or to perform tasks that the customer has traditionally done for themselves, but at less cost. Others are looking at subscription models that separate the product or service buying decision in time from the need to replace hardware.
Kirt Mead, who leads LEF EP research in this area, will discuss the approaches to coping with recession through the perspective of customer centricity.
See event: Client Centric Strategies for Coping with Recession (30 June 2009)
- Lessons from Early Adopters: Choices and Risks in Moving to the Cloud
18 May 09 | Presentation
Cloud Computing is part of a bow wave of change that is washing over IT organizations. Components of the wave include the consumerization of IT, the rise of much more IT-savvy employees and a shift in business models from vertical integration to horizontal, networked businesses.
In this session, Doug will point out where firms are having success today, as well as where capabilities still need to evolve before enterprises can make full use of the Cloud.
See event: From the Boardroom to the Cloud – Are Business and IT Organized for the Future? (18 May 2009)
- Organising IT for the Future – Retooling for Recessions and Beyond
18 May 09 | Presentation
Organizations have never had more technology options – outsourcing, offshore, the cloud, software as a service, business unit ownership, and so on. But what are organizations actually doing and how much change really lies ahead? In this session, David will discuss how some of the world’s leading CIOs really feel about the future use of IT in their organizations, the importance of the cloud, the role of the Central IT function, and even their own CIO profession.
See event: From the Boardroom to the Cloud – Are Business and IT Organized for the Future? (18 May 2009)
- Innovate Your Way out of Recession
30 Apr 09 | Presentation
In the lifetime of many of today’s senior business and IT leaders, almost every aspect of organizational life has changed. All, that is, except the deeply rooted orthodoxies upon which management goes about its business in support of the aims of the organization. The way we manage the business and its supporting functions is fast becoming the single biggest bottleneck to innovation and improved productivity, not the ability of employees.
Technology and a new generation entering the workplace are examples of powerful forces which can afford new possibilities for greater organizational agility and increased returns on human capital. The current economic climate also presents the chance for business and IT leaders to rise to the challenge of thinking differently about how they respond to these complex issues.
During this web conference, the LEF Director of Programmes, Alan Matcham, will share with you insights into the concept of management innovation and how some organizations are responding to these complex challenges.
See event: Innovate Your Way out of Recession (30 April 2009)
- Clarity through the Chaos - Making Informed IT Spend Decisions in a Darkening Economy
31 Mar 09 | Presentation
CEOs and senior business executives have continually challenged IT organizations to demonstrate the value of their spend. Discussions around work priorities, value, and alignment with the business have always been 'evergreen' topics on the CIO agenda. As a practical matter, the hope has been that decisions resulting from these discussions are reflected in the spend levels and components of the IT budget.
In this web conference, Marc Posner will describe some useful discussion/analytical frameworks for making more informed (and less risky) decisions around IT spend reduction, as well as some real world examples where such techniques have been applied. A series of action steps will also be discussed to illustrate how organizations can quickly put this thinking into action and build confidence/trust with senior business leaders in these troubled times.
See event: Clarity through the Chaos - Making Informed IT Spend Decisions in a Darkening Economy (31 March 2009)
- Getting Value from the Cloud: Today and in the Future
24 Feb 09 | Presentation
Articles in the FT, the WSJ, and a recent 14 page insert in the Economist have raised the visibility of Cloud Computing in the eyes of general business management. We now hear reports of CIOs being asked about Cloud Computing by their CEOs. And, in the current climate, the question is typically, "So, how can we save money with this Cloud Computing thing?"
In a previous economic climate it would have been okay to make some statement such as, "We are looking into it, but we think that there are some issues with reliability and security". Now it is different, we are all under pressure to cut costs, reduce cycle time, and grow the business. We need to invest energy in figuring how we can use the Cloud safely, not just in why we cannot.
In this talk, Doug will describe how firms should think about various options in the Cloud. He will point out how firms such as Lilly, BP, and Educational Testing Service are getting value from the Cloud today. And he will suggest what we need to be watching for that will let us expand our use of the Cloud beyond just as a substitute for what we do today.
See event: Getting Value from the Cloud: Today and in the Future (24 February 2009)