A IT roadmap is a plan that matches short-term and long-term objectives with specific technology solutions to help meet those objectives. The roadmap has three significant functions:
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It helps achieve a consensus about a set of needs and the technologies required to fulfill those needs;
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It creates a mechanism to help forecast future technology requirements; and
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It provides a framework to help plan and coordinate ongoing technology solutions.
An IT roadmap establishes a clear path for IT investments and ensures that the organization can support this path. But how should CIOs create an effective and realistic IT roadmap? Some starting questions include:
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How will our organization benefit from an IT roadmap?
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Does IT perceive a value in such an effort?
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What are some of the initial steps that should be taken along this path?
The Roadmap process
The first step must be to comprehend the organization’s business strategy and get a perspective on how IT is presently supporting (or not fully supporting) the business. Once the organization establishes that current state (the starting point) for both the business and IT (and how they interrelate), the second step involves assembling a vision (future state) for IT. Finally, the third step involves deciding how the organization can get from the current state to the vision state via very specific activities (the roadmap). A key ingredient will be the expectations and requirements from business management on how they anticipate IT to contribute to the overall business functions.
1) Understanding the current state involves:
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An inventory of the services IT presently affords to the business;
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Technology assets utilized to provide/operate/support those services;
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Resources (people) used to provide/operate/support those services;
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Expenses of the assets and services needed to bring the internal IT services to the business;
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Current IT project portfolio (new/upgraded services already planned and services to be retired);
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Current business strategy and objectives;
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New technologies/service that are emerging in the market that the business and/or IT think would benefit the current business strategy;
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Opportunities available to improve/consolidate/retire services;
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High impact business processes or cycles;
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Organization (current operating model);
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Cost and complexity drivers; and
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Business and technical assets.
2) Defining the desired vision (future state) involves:
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Future business strategy (2-3 years);
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Services that IT needs to provide to support the future business strategy;
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Technology assets currently on the market and/or emerging that will be necessary to afford those services;
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People assets necessary to provide those services.
3) Developing an IT Roadmap from current state to future (or desired) state involves:
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Aligning directly to the business strategy;
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Establishing a high-level IT project portfolio to accomplish the transition of IT services in terms of technology, people and secondary services, and
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Providing financial assets required for the transition.
Many organizations develop a three to five year roadmap. The roadmap should be developed with input from all areas of the business because each area has their separate set of needs to meet their organization’s objective.
The Litcom Approach
Developing a roadmap assists organizations with identifying the projects that enable the business to achieve their strategic goals, and provides a mechanism for IT to forecast the technology needs that map to the business goals and objectives. To find out how Litcom can help your organization develop an IT Roadmap for future success, please contact us at: [email protected]
How can an IT assessment benefit your organization?
An IT assessment provides your organization perspective on the effectiveness of its systems, staff, budget, vendors, procedures and company policies. For more information, download our free guide or contact us at [email protected].
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