A CIO’s Look into Digital Transformation Consulting
Organizational IT can be complex and chaotic. As a business grows, the IT burden grows with it. New devices, systems, and software get added to the fray as employee counts increase and business objectives evolve. Inevitably, this IT patchwork creates friction in workflows, and digital transformation consulting becomes critical to keeping your business able to compete and excel.
A transformation begins by looking forward at both near- and long-term needs. It requires assessing trajectories and goals and evaluating what tools your team needs to get there, all while staying one step ahead of today’s tech needs. As such, digital transformation consulting rarely happens in a vacuum. It’s essential that it aligns with your business’s strategic ends and accounts for your unique workflows and culture. Anything less than that is a strategic miss.
That’s why strong IT leadership is crucial for every successful digital transformation. You need an experienced, C-level IT partner who can navigate that initiative with you and set you up for a measurable return on investment.
Meet Barasupport.
We’ve helped top-performing businesses and organizations in the Pacific Northwest successfully execute IT transformations and provide them with our Seattle managed IT services since 2000.
What Goes into Digital Transformation Consulting Project?
An IT transformation is comprehensive and structured. It requires top-down buy-in and planning that results in five key action steps:
- Select the right tools and systems to support your team’s unique needs.
- Implement new, flexible, cloud-based systems that scale.
- Migrate data from old systems to new systems, without missing a beat.
- Train and empower teams to use the new tools.
- Develop new workflows across the organization.
- Digital transformation is a big project that yields big results.
Let’s look at this process in practice.
Malaria No More’s Big Move
Malaria No More (MNM) undertook a digital transformation while relocating their office from New York to Seattle. It was a strategic move, but their existing IT infrastructure was anything but strategic. Their systems were outdated and unreliable at best, and they certainly wouldn’t survive a cross-country move.
MNM brought in Barasupport’s digital transformation consulting team to tackle the problem, make the move, and transform their aging systems into an integrated, agile tool for their organization.
“We started by sitting down for an in-depth whiteboard session with the MNM team,” says Russ Stewart, the Vice President and IT Director of Barasupport. “We listened to their concerns, learned about their business, and created a detailed, strategic plan to modernize and move their IT systems across the country.”
After creating alignment between the MNM executive team and the core IT team, Barasupport got to work. They virtualized the current servers, migrated their systems and data, installed new equipment, secured the network, and installed communication and telephone infrastructure for their new workspace, all the while navigating the landmines of a problematic legacy system. “The risks were extensive,” said Kevin Gemeroy of Barasupport, “But it’s a testament to our team’s preparation and execution that this project was such a resounding success.”
Once MNM’s team arrived in Seattle, Barasupport’s team took things to the next level. Understanding the not-for-profit’s IT budget, the team at Dynamic equipped MNM’s project leads with the necessary knowledge to train their teams on the new software solutions they’d just implemented. “They translated IT into the language of our business,” MNM says, “and that made all the difference.”
That digital transformation pivoted Malaria No More from a disjointed system that created friction in their work to an agile, scalable system that empowers their mission.
Digital transformation consulting projects are complex, but Barasupport is here to help you lead that process.BarasupportBarasupport
Top Reasons IT Transformation Projects Get Shot Down
Concerns over cost.
Problem: Key stakeholders are concerned with the significant costs that an IT transformation requires.
Solution: Reframe your IT transformation as a strategic investment. Cohesive, up-to-date systems allow your business to leverage IT to help your employees succeed. In terms of financial resources, labor is the single most expensive cost most businesses have. By implementing quality IT systems, labor becomes more efficient, wasting less time and improving the bottom line.
Fear of change.
Problem: Business leaders hesitate to disrupt the status quo, preferring to limp along with inefficient systems that “work” instead of adapting to unfamiliar systems that excel.
Solution: Present the IT transformation as a structured, manageable plan with key milestones and measurable outcomes. A successful IT transformation includes space to train employees in using the updated systems and working with an experienced digital transformation consulting team will ensure that this takes place.
Lack of leadership.
Problem: A business lacks the leadership and willingness to push past objections and explore future benefits.
Solution: Partner with an experienced digital transformation consulting team that can bring CIO leadership and communication to your executive table. These consultants will cast vision for the benefit of the transformation, present fact-based information on its projected results, and guide your team through a step-by-step process to get it done.
Are you facing roadblocks in your IT transformation process? Contact Barasupport to get CIO-level guidance.
Helping Your Business with IT Transformation Projects
IT Upgrades
Office & System Expansion
Planning & Budgeting
Make It Happen
Technology has the potential to fuel your growth and help you reach your businesses objectives. With unified systems, up-to-date software, and cross-organizational alignment, you can remove barriers to productivity and free up your teams to operate at full capacity.
We understand that the process to get your company’s legacy systems up to date can seem daunting, but we’re here to help you create and execute a plan that fits your business.
If your IT isn’t actively contributing to your business’s success, it’s time for a digital transformation. Contact Barasupport and take your digital systems from a mediocre necessity to an exceptional asset today.