Profit-Driven Technology Strategy

We undertake projects that range from the development of full corporate and technologystrategies (including e-business strategy) to smaller scale strategic IT and organisational reviews. In developing a strategy for a client, we analyse the relationship between the organisation’s aims, corporate strategy and business processes.An essential part of this is toidentify where a more imaginative or effective use of IT can offerthe most opportunities and leverage to achieve higherservice quality and greaterprofitability.

Our methodology aims to ensure that technology strategy also matches an organisation’s corporate needs.It includes an analysis of critical success factors and information needs, as well as implementation planning.

Risk Management

One of our fields of expertise is in IT project risk assessment, management and business continuity planning. We assist clients to assess risks and develop appropriate avoidance and mitigation plans.

Soft Systems Analysis and Process Design.

Where organisations seek to resolve problems where the elements of the problem situation are complex, difficult to identify and to define, it is very difficult to model and thereby understand the problem using conventional reductionist techniques such as SSADM or operational research.

It is in these sorts of problem situations where a Soft Systems approach can be used to “express” and understand the problem. This methodology has been used in projects for clients in defence, law and order, healthcare and telecommunications as well as transport.

The idea underpinning SSM is that of creating a comparison between what can be seen in the real world and what can be examined using systems thinking.

We work with our clients as facilitators, using a soft systems approach. This enables our clients to analyse complex, ill-defined and fuzzy problem domains, and construct effective, reliable and robust systems solutions.

Global Best Practice Surveys

Benchmarking and best practice surveys are a feature of much of our work, because with a Profit-Driven Technology Strategy study it is essential to ascertain the nature and strength of competition as well as the support available from proven technology that is already on the market. In several major surveys, we have turned our expertise in obtaining information world-wide to good account, in identifying, testing and documenting best practice and consistent trends, both in the use of technology and the development of the technology itself. This is not confined to ICT: we have also reported to the EU Commission on the significance and prioritisation of different operating technologies for railways.

Other IT Consulting

The methodologies mentioned above are all well-established and can be applied in a relatively standardised way, although we would always seek to tailor them as necessary to each client’s needs. However, we offer a range of further consulting services including ICT audits and health checks, especially in evaluating a client’s capability to procure and develop software and systems that are fit for purpose. As part of the implementation of technology strategy, we also assist clients to undertake business and ICT requirements analyses as well as organisational planning.