August 21, 2000

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Free Advice:
A Business Plan For IT Success

Developing a strategic IT plan can help you avoid a long, expensive journey

By Roger Dick

ne of the main reasons some of today's Internet companies are closing their doors is because their technology capabilities aren't aligned with their business objectives. In their rush to climb aboard the Internet/intranet train, too many companies made critical business decisions without first focusing on the strategic IT planning that ensures success. The result has been an expensive and frustrating trial-and-error approach.

Every business executive understands the need for a comprehensive business plan. Many would also agree that technology plays an ever-increasing role in the success of business initiatives. However, few companies regard their IT planning at an equal level with their fundamental business plan.

Poor planning wastes money when a company is testing inappropriate applications, and time trying to fix problems that aren't relevant to the success of the company. Quality manufacturing is a perfect comparison: Money is spent, year after year, on inspection to cull items that don't meet specifications. The company pays to make poor-quality products and pays again to isolate the defective parts. Every time we look at a technology solution, we should first determine if we're enabling a business idea to happen faster, or if we're simply fixing something that's broken.

IT strategic planning requires investing time up-front to consider the basics: What avenue will be the best one to the marketplace for your company? My technique is founded on positive thinking--I ask people to envision the perfect, success-driven environment for their company. Once that vision is defined, put it into a plan, and direct your energy toward turning the vision into reality. Focus on the key business driver and measure yourself by the final outcome that will define success for your company. A plan focused on optimizing essential business objectives will allow a get-to-market-fast strategy that can easily compensate for time spent on up-front analysis and decisions.

The early strategic-planning stage is also the best time to bring business and IT people together to discuss--and agree upon--what choices will be made. This is also the time to obtain total commitment from everyone involved, from middle managers to vice presidents. At some point in every project, senior-level support is needed to push through a successful outcome.

Many times what seems like support is merely a statement--not a real commitment. Don't mistake a lukewarm verbal OK from business managers and IT users for a real mandate from everyone to make it happen. Projects that have weak backing typically fail on their first attempt, burning both time and money. The success of major technology projects is directly proportional to the belief of those involved that it will increase the business' chance of success and contribute to each individual's performance objectives. It's important to communicate how those goals will be achieved in the early stages of planning.

Once you've identified the key business objectives for your company, select the technology that will best help your plan to succeed. Make sure your IT investment is capable of delivering on the plan's specific objectives and that your company is capable of implementing a scalable, reliable system. When choosing technology, the key word is scalable. Many companies underestimate their potential for success; they fail under the weight of their own success when the IT foundation can't hold up under the growth.

Did you see the online retailers recently hit with penalties from the Federal Trade Commission for not delivering goods as promised ("Long Arm Of The Law ," 8/7/00)? Their E-retail systems couldn't handle the surge of customer orders, and that cost them lost revenue and customer confidence, all because their systems failed at critical mass. Those systems should have been scalable.

In today's fast-moving E-business environment, many companies tacitly adhere to the philosophy that any road is OK if you don't know where you're going. That kind of directional uncertainty is a sure way to fail. Those who spend the time to develop a comprehensive, strategic IT plan and choose their IT investment wisely can take the fast lane to success and avoid a possible brick wall at the end of an expensive journey.

Roger Dick heads the IT Strategy Services consulting group for Strategic Technologies in Cary, N.C. He's the former CIO at Glaxo Wellcome, Michelin, and Catalytica Pharmaceuticals. Reach him at roger.dick@stratech.com

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