Getting a seat at the table is your first objective in
building a strategic roadmap. Knowing what the business wants to do and
understanding what it will need in the future is a challenge for most IT departments.
This could be a challenge such as:
- Understanding the business vision
- Clear communications on business planning
- Insight into what the future state should look like
- Understanding what the IT team is spending its time on day to day
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Having a clear vision of what the future state is and knowing that creating an IT Infrastructure roadmap is never finished will give your IT team an understanding of priorities, goals, business vision, and risks associated with not planning.
- Understand what you are currently paying for and why.
Impact and Result
- Understanding of the business priorities, and vision of the future
- Know what your budget is spent on: running the business, growth, or innovation
- Increased communication with the right stakeholders
- Better planning based on analysis of time study, priorities, and business goals
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.6/10
Overall Impact
$39,899
Average $ Saved
24
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Government of Bermuda
Guided Implementation
10/10
$64,999
5
University of Johannesburg
Guided Implementation
9/10
$11,699
10
Glacier Financial Holdings
Guided Implementation
10/10
$10,000
10
Unity Homes, Inc
Guided Implementation
10/10
$7,000
10
Albuquerque Public Schools
Workshop
9/10
$32,499
105
Debswana
Guided Implementation
10/10
$129K
N/A
LPL Financial
Guided Implementation
10/10
$3,899
10
Turners and Growers
Guided Implementation
9/10
$85,999
35
Wabtec Corp
Guided Implementation
9/10
$12,999
5
American Honda Motor Co., Inc
Guided Implementation
9/10
$2,599
5
Build a Strategic Infrastructure Roadmap
Align infrastructure investment to business-driven goals.
Analysts' Perspectives
Infrastructure roadmaps are an absolute necessity for all organizations. An organization's size often dictates the degree of complexity of the roadmap, but they all strive to paint the future picture of the organization's IT infrastructure.
Infrastructure roadmaps typically start with the current state of infrastructure and work on how to improve. That thinking must change! Start with the future vision, an unimpeded vision, as if there were no constraints. Now you can see where you want to be.
Look at your past to determine how you have been spending your infrastructure budget. If your past shows a trend of increased operational expenditures, that trend will likely continue. The same is true for capital spending and staffing numbers.
Now that you know where you want to go, and how you ended up where you are, look at the constraints you must deal with and make a plan. It's not as difficult as it may seem, and even the longest journey begins with one step.
Speaking of that first step, it should be to understand the business goals and align your roadmap with those same goals. Now you have a solid plan to develop a strategic infrastructure roadmap; enjoy the journey!
There are many reasons why you need to build a strategic IT infrastructure roadmap, but your primary objectives are to set the long-term direction, build a framework for decision making, create a foundation for operational planning, and be able to explain to the business what you are planning. It is a basis for accountability and sets out goals and priorities for the future.
Other than knowing where you are going there are four key benefits to building the roadmap.
- It allows you to be strategic and transformative rather than tactical and reactive.
- It gives you the ability to prioritize your tasks and projects in order to get them going.
- It gives you the ability to align your projects to business outcomes.
- Additionally, you can leverage your roadmap to justify your budget for resources and infrastructure.
When complete, you will be able to communicate to your fellow IT teams what you are doing and get an understanding of possible business- or IT-related roadblocks, but overall executing on your roadmap will demonstrate to the business your competencies and ability to succeed.
PJ Ryan
Research Director
Infrastructure & Operations Practice
Info-Tech Research Group
John Donovan
Principal Research Director
Infrastructure & Operations Practice
Info-Tech Research Group
Build a Strategic Infrastructure Roadmap
Align infrastructure investment to business-driven goals.
EXECUTIVE BRIEF
Executive Summary
Your Challenge
When it comes to building a strategic roadmap, getting a seat at the table is your first objective. Knowing what the business wants to do and understanding its future needs is a challenge for most IT organizations.
Challenges such as:
- Understanding the business vision
- Clear communications on business planning
- Insight into what the future state should look like
Common Obstacles
Fighting fires, keeping the lights on, patching, and overseeing legacy debt maintenance – these activities prevent your IT team from thinking strategically and looking beyond day-to-day operations. Issues include:
- Managing time well
- Building the right teams
- Setting priorities
Procrastinating when it comes to thinking about your future state will get you nowhere in a hurry.
Info-Tech's Approach
Look into your past IT spend and resources that are being utilized.
- Analyze all aspects of the operation, and resources required.
- Be realistic with your timelines.
- Work from the future state backward.
Build your roadmap by setting priorities, understanding risk and gaps both in finance and resources. Overall, your roadmap is never done, so don't worry if you get it wrong on the first pass.
Info-Tech Insight
Have a clear vision of what the future state is, and know that when creating an IT infrastructure roadmap, it is never done. This will give your IT team an understanding of priorities, goals, business vision, and risks associated with not planning. Understand what you are currently paying for and why.
Insight Summary
"Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now."
Source: Alan Lakein, Libquotes
Your strategic objectives are key to building a roadmap
Many organizations' day-to-day IT operations are tactical and reactive. This needs to change; the IT team needs to become strategic and proactive in its planning and execution. Forward thinking bridges the gap from your current state, to what the organization is, to what it wants to achieve. Your strategic objectives need to align to the business vision and goals and keep it running.
Your future state will determine your roadmap priorities
Identify what the business needs to meet its goals; this should be reflected in your roadmap priorities. Then identify the tasks and projects that can get you there. Business alignment is key, as these projects require prioritization. Strategic initiatives that align to business outcomes will be your foundation for planning on those priorities. If you do not align your initiatives, you will end up spinning your wheels. A good strategic roadmap will have all the elements of forward thinking and planning to execute with the right resources, right priorities, and right funding to make it happen.
Understand what you have been paying for the last few years
Measure the cost of "keeping the lights on" as a baseline for your budget that is earmarked and already spent. Determine if your current spend is holding back innovation due to:
- The high cost of maintenance
- Resources in operations doing low-value work due to the effort required to do tasks related to break/fix on aging hardware and software
A successful strategic roadmap will be determined when you have a good handle on your current spending patterns and planning for future needs that include resources, budget, and know-how. Without a plan and roadmap, that plan will not get business buy-in or funding.