A C-Level Guide to Confronting Infrastructure and Operations Challenges

By W.B. King

For credit unions confronting infrastructure and operations (I&O) challenges, Info-Tech Research Group released a Infrastructure and Operations Playbook that includes eight secrets to achieving IT excellence. Before getting to these key takeaways, and to better understand common operational issues, C-level executives were polled and categorized as being one of the following: innovator (who transforms), business partner (who expands), trusted operator (who optimizes), firefighter (who supports), or unstable (who struggles).

“Business satisfaction is IT’s key metric. Over 80% of CEOs and CFOs say that their IT functions are either firefighters or unstable,” the report stated. “Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority (93%) of C-suite leaders say that the desired target state for their IT department is to be at the level of Trusted Operator or above.”

Info-Tech Research Group, the London, Ontario, Canada-based technology research and advisory company, serves over 30,000 IT professionals and bills itself as producing unbiased and relevant research organization aimed at helping CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely and well-informed decisions.

“Eighty-five percent of core IT processes are ineffective on average across all IT shops. The foundation of any well-run IT shop is its core processes. Having immature processes means your team spends every day fighting fires and fixing things and less time delivering value,” the report stated. “It’s time for this to change.”

Eight IT Secrets to Success

According to Info-Tech, for C-level IT executives to be successful, they must address eight challenges and deploy corresponding secrets of success:

1. Challenge: End-user expectations change dynamically and outpace IT capabilities. Secret: Embedded self-service delivery is key to keeping up with dynamic end-user requirements.

2. Challenge: Critical processes that are immature and informally managed. Secret: Chose the right process, the one of least resistance.

3. Challenge: Scarcity of skills and resources for modern challenges. Secret: Build on skills from adjacent areas to develop a modern I&O team.

4. Challenge: Technology sprawl creates unnecessary costs and risks. Secret: Inventory assets when they enter your environment, rather than after the fact.

5. Challenge: Service continuity risks and immature governance risk derailing your career. Secret: Resilience secures an I&O leader’s job, but governance secures resilience.

6. Challenge: A rapidly expanding vendor ecosystem leads to a lack of control and visibility. Secret: Prioritize vendors according to value and criticality to enable a strategic approach to vendor management.

7. Challenge: Hybrid and multi-cloud environments lead to complex and fragmented infrastructure. Secret: Strategic planning and automation are key to effectively managing modern cloud and core infrastructure.

8. Challenge: Demands for disruptive and innovative technologies are a challenge for core stability and reliability. Secret: Balance suitability, value, and risk to realize value from disruptive and innovative technologies.

   
   

“Whether you are new to your role or a seasoned I&O leader, you are bound to face some or all of these challenges as you seek to mature your department from firefighter to business partner to innovator,” the report stated. “There is an unlimited number of projects and demand for IT that can keep any IT leader busy indefinitely, and most will provide some level of value. There is a constant stream of urgent tasks and projects, and the demand for IT work continues to escalate. For I&O leaders looking to succeed, focusing on these eight core secrets will be critical.”