2009 TechNO Expo

Bringing in experts in a given field is a way to drive better results, faster, and more economically. For example, LogiSolve has contracted for many years with a trusted payroll expert to do our payroll for more than 120 people. He charges us a reasonable rate and gets the work done accurately in 10 hours per month. This is a much smarter than hiring a full-time resource to complete the same task. During busier times, we simply use more of his time to handle year-end taxes or other important tasks.

Many of our clients have been preparing for this type of situation over many years. Several have strong internal project offices to prioritize those projects which will drive value and lower costs. Several have adopted lean project management methods such as RUP lite, lean Six Sigma, and Agile to more quickly bring projects to a value-based deliverable. Two of our clients have implemented shared QA centers where multiple projects can tap into quality experts and performance tools versus duplicating those costs throughout the organization.

Rick Kuula, president, Solutia Consulting, Stillwater

Overall, I am cautiously optimistic that as 2009 progresses, things will continue to improve. This recession is far from over, but I don’t see it affecting IT quite like the 2001 recession did. Back then, IT was hit with excess capacity from Y2K as well as the dot-com bust in addition to the downturn. Today’s CIOs and IT directors have done a better job of aligning IT goals with business goals, making IT a stronger contributor to improving the business’s bottom line. IT can bring the analytical skills and technology expertise needed to help the business transform into a leaner enterprise—through product innovation, automation, customer service, going green, or any other business initiative.

Everyone’s budgets are being scrutinized more closely and many projects are requiring more approvals. I advise clients to review their application portfolios and projects in light of staff and budget reductions. They need to prioritize what adds value to the business now and align projects with goals that increase revenue, reduce costs, or improve customer service.

Some of the best solutions incorporate business process improvements and quality assurance. For instance, companies are finding they can solve many of their business challenges—like streamlining their call center performance or reducing the time to close their financials—with process improvements rather than expensive new technology. IT-department business analysts can help teams benchmark current processes, analyze potential improvements, recommend the best course of action, and then take measurements to quantify improvements. Similarly, implementing quality assurance programs across the organization can save a great deal of time and money as downstream errors and re-work are minimized. Even if organizations have to go outside for the expertise to do these things, they will realize substantial savings.