Adapt to Uncertainty With a Technology-First Action Plan
Cost Cutting in Times of Crisis Works; Doubling Down on Innovation Works Even Better.
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Ongoing macro vulnerabilities will force every organization and therefore IT to react.
- Persistent spending scrutiny and budget cuts will keep IT locked in “crisis-response” mode, starving innovation budgets and limiting the function to a tactical firefighting role.
- Escalating tariffs, supplier instability, and shifting regulations will inflate costs and disrupt services, eroding stakeholder trust and widening the gap with more agile competitors.
By creating a Technology-First Action Plan your organization can avoid reacting and instead lead the organization in seizing tech-enabled opportunities.
- Structured cost reductions free up capital that can be re-channeled into AI and other digital transformation plays, all while IT retains full control over timing and scope.
- Early, cross-functional visibility into emerging risks aligns leadership around fast, opportunity-focused responses, boosting resilience and positioning the organization to outpace peers during volatility.
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Onsite Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn’t enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our Project Workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a road map in place to complete your project successfully.
Book NowModule 1: Elicit Critical Data
The Purpose
Ahead of engaging in the workshop, your organization will need to acquire and be ready to leverage critical data.
Key Benefits Achieved
Insight into where IT spending and staff time is spent as well as how this will engage existing strategies.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
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| 1.1 | (Recommended) Complete the IT Staffing Diagnostic |
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| 1.2 | (Required) Complete IT Spend & Staffing assessment |
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| 1.3 | (Recommended) Complete vendor contracts reviews |
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| 1.4 | Review your current strategic documents: IT Strategy, Innovation Strategy, etc. |
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| 1.5 | (Optional) Review existing Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for relevance and coverage. |
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Module 2: Assess Uncertainties & Opportunities
The Purpose
As macro vulnerabilities create more uncertainty for your organization, actively identify which ones are most impactful for your organization and identify opportunities to leverage technology.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Understand the macro vulnerabilities that impact your organization.
- Tie the impact of those vulnerabilities to organizational and IT risks.
- Prioritize the risks that require immediate attention.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
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| 2.1 | Scan the environment to understand emerging macro-vulnerabilities. |
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| 2.2 | Identify organizational impacts and opportunities. |
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| 2.3 | Determine new IT risks and assess risk severity in an integrated risk register. |
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| 2.4 | Prioritize IT risks based on organizational risk tolerance. |
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| 2.5 | Decide on risk mitigation responses. |
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| 2.6 | Consider technology-enabled opportunities to focus in on. |
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Module 3: Review Resourcing, Vendors & Budgets
The Purpose
Key Benefits Achieved
- Understand IT’s spending.
- Identify core opportunities to optimize costs around systems, contracts, projects, and workforce.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Review IT Staff and Spending allocations across the four views: Expenses, IT Services, Business Lines, and Innovation. |
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| 3.2 | Identify cost optimization actions across: Vendor consolidation & re-negotiation, Project portfolio rationalization, Systems rationalization, Workforce productivity. |
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Module 4: Build Your Technology-First Action Plan
The Purpose
Key Benefits Achieved
- A technology-first approach to mitigating macro vulnerabilities to the organization.
- Explores a high number of possible actions that can be taken to mitigate organizational risk.
- A roadmap that spans people, processes, and technology.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | Identify actions to improve IT capabilities and execute. |
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| 4.2 | Identify actions that retain and develop top talent in the organization. |
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| 4.3 | Identify actions that leverage AI and innovation to transform the organization. |
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| 4.4 | Prioritize actions based on impact to reduce risk or seize opportunities. |
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| 4.5 | Consolidate initiatives into a 12-month Technology-First Action Plan. |
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Module 5: Define Your Execution Strategy
The Purpose
Key Benefits Achieved
- Align the Technology-First Action Plan back to core organizational value metrics.
- Prepare initiative owners for what is required to be successful.
- Be prepared to communicate the Technology-First Action Plan with critical stakeholders.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Define owners, purpose, and critical criteria for the success of each initiative. |
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| 5.2 | Build one-page initiative descriptions. |
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| 5.3 | Identify the impact the Technology-First Action Plan has on organizational value. |
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| 5.4 | Build a communication plan. |
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| 5.5 | Discuss next steps and wrap-up. |
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