IT Strategy Clinic

IT Strategy and business strategy are completely entwined. Professionals both inside and outside the IT sector need to understand the technology drivers that are influencing the strategic directions your clients are taking. This column has arisen to help business-focused professionals understand the business implications associated with the latest bandied about buzzcronyns. At the very least, dropping these terms into business conversations will imply that you are fully tuned into the technology marketplace.

To make this a practical column the following structure has been used:

• Definition: A business oriented jargon-free soundbite.
• Business implication: Why it is important to your clients.
• Test the water: This is a question designed to establish how knowledgeable the other party is before you start implying that you are something of an expert. If they struggle to answer, you are well on your way to flexing your technology awareness muscles. Conversely if they give a confident answer you may consider feigning a hear attack. It also provides the underpinning fact so that you can gauge the response or even comment on it.
• Smart comment: Subject to the success of the water testing exercise, you may want to use this ‘game over’ statement to confirm your authority on the subject.

e-CRM

Definition: Customer Relationship Management is a philosophy focused on making all departments in an organisation customer facing. It also addresses the importance of customer loyalty and the need to identify who your best clients are with a view to giving them the bulk of your attention. e-CRM is simply using the web to achieve these objectives.

Business implication: The web is becoming an important channel to market. The ability to personalise the user’s experience and analyse their buying patterns makes this an attractive proposition to business.

Test the water:

Q - To what extent is e-CRM simply CRM?

Underpinning fact – The only difference between CRM and e-CRM is that the e-CRM tools are web based. They are both philosophically identical.

Smart comment: I firmly believe that e-CRM, and in particularly Business Analytics (analysis of web-based customer statistics (don’t recite bracketed statement!)), will be a key strand in the sales/marketing strategies of postdotcom survivalists.

Associated facial expression/tone: Resolute.

P2P

Definition: Peer to peer computing is an approach to structuring IT systems such that the power of all the computers in an organisation are utilised to the full.

Business implication: The desktop computer is a rapidly devaluing asset that spends most of its time idle (eg. at night, lunch breaks and so on). P2P potentially offers a way to unleash this wasted capacity and thus get a better ROI (return on the investment) for the IT investment.

Test the water:

Q - What do you think of Napster’s computing model?

Underpinning fact - Napster is the online music file sharing company that is utilising the P2P model.

Smart comment: Given the downturn in IT spending, I don’t see IT Directors recommending P2P to the Board, as it would in many respect require a ‘drains-up’ restructuring of the IT infrastructure.

Associated facial expression/tone: Doubtful.

ASP

Definition: Application Service Provider. This is a company that delivers software applications to its clients via the web.

Business implication: Rather than buying applications, eg Microsoft Office, the ASP model will allow companies to effectively rent the software by downloading it when required via the web. This is particularly attractive to small to medium sized enterprises as it could effectively enable them to outsource their applications, and consequently their IT departments, to a third party, ie the ASP.

Test the water:

Q - What impact do you think the ASP model will have on the software industry?

Underpinning fact – If it takes off it will have a large impact. But it’s a big ‘if’ as there a number of issues including security and reliability of links to the ASP.

Smart comment: For me, ASP marks a new era in outsourcing. I sometimes refer to it as cyber sourcing.

Associated facial expression/tone: Smug.