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April 24, 2017 - by Synoptek
Introduction to Synoptek’s Business IT Maturity Model
Maturity models are a proven approach for leaders to improve the effectiveness of their organizations. Synoptek’s Maturity Model enables an organization to assess its own People, Processes, Technology, and IT alignment to the core business, so that attention is focused where the greatest impact can be made. This approach is similar to those of Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (CobiT) and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).
Assessing Your IT Operations: Level 0 Indications
Level 0 – Everything must start somewhere, and business IT is no exception. Companies in startup will very naturally purchase systems and tools with very little direction or planning beyond choosing their preferred operating platform and hardware manufacturer. Some formal IT Maturity Models refer to this as the “Chaotic” or “Ad hoc” stage. There’s no real plan, policies, or formal management of whatever network infrastructure is installed. There’s nobody really assigned to provide IT and help desk support. If there’s a problem, different people may reach out to different external and internal resources. During this stage, employees will often download software applications at their own discretion, exposing the organization to risk of data loss. Organizations at this level generally do not believe investing in preventative maintenance and management of IT is justifiable.
Business Implications of Remaining on Level 0:
Assessing Your IT Operations: Level 1 Indications
Level 1 – Realizing that computer support is draining many peoples’ time, organizations start to put more formal structures in place that are responsive to the frustrations employees are expressing. Many IT Maturity Models refer to this as the “Reactive” stage. Everything that is done, like putting event alerts and reports into place, or identifying the person in each department that is responsible for IT, is a reaction to a given occurrence. These assignments tend to create IT silos where different departments use different applications, different data structures, and different protocols. Even though a more formalized approach to handling problems may be put in place, often the outcome of this is a great deal of firefighting and lost time. The silos created by the fragmented departmental approach tend to increase the cost incurred by having to build applications and database integrations to connect these disparate islands of automation, enabling greater consolidation in reporting for purposes of decision-support. Maintaining uptime availability is key to keeping the users at bay, which ultimately is not the goal most companies would like their IT departments to have. Companies that remain at Level 0 or 1 for any length of time end up with personnel who are very frustrated with the “IT department” even if there isn’t one formally. They continue to view IT as a “necessary evil” that may often impede their progress.
Business Implications of Remaining on Level 1:
How can you move up and mature your IT Operations?
Any change is challenging, and moving from one level of IT maturity to the next is no exception. It isn’t enough to simply do the same things faster, better, or more efficiently. Making the kind of transformation described in the levels of the IT Maturity Model requires organizations to do new things, handle things in new ways, learn new skills and processes, and “unlearn” the ones they replace.
Read Synoptek’s newest whitepaper to learn what specific actions your organization can take to move to the next level: Transforming Your IT For Business Results: Moving to the Next Level
This paper addresses the following:
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