The overriding goal of Operational Excellence is the continuous optimization of the IT organization in terms of quality, security, speed and costs. This requires a corporate culture that is characterized by a permanent desire for change, a high level of quality in all areas and company-wide transparency. This self-image starts with top management and ends with each individual employee.
In concrete terms, Operational Excellence is about finding the right balance between basic operational tasks and the development of important strategic capabilities. On the one hand, day-to-day business must be ensured with a high level of customer satisfaction, security and the most efficient use of resources. On the other hand, transformation projects must have the necessary skills and resources and be managed cleanly according to time, costs and risks. The optimal balancing of both areas and the continuous improvement within them often pose challenges to IT organizations. Hiring freezes and cost pressures pose serious problems for those in charge.
We support you with our expert know-how as well as proven methods and models to successfully implement Operational Excellence in your IT organization.
- Cyber Security Excellence
- IT Performance Management
- IT Cost Effectiveness
- Zero Defect in IT Operations
- IT Risk Management
- Project Readiness & Turnaround
Cyber Security Excellence
The omnipresence of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the networking of devices and systems, especially in the context of the Internet of Things and cloud computing, make cyber security a very important but often neglected topic in IT organizations. Possible consequences include the loss of competition-relevant corporate secrets, the interruption of value-added processes, or significant image damage, e.g., due to the theft of customer data. In order to protect networks, computer systems, cyber-physical systems, data and the entire organization from attacks of this kind, vulnerabilities in the entire IT organization must be identified and consistently eliminated. A strategic analysis of your IT blueprint and network infrastructure provides insight into the risky areas of IT. Building on the results of the analysis, we work with you to derive an action plan and tracking to eliminate the identified vulnerabilities with appropriate solutions. In order to protect your IT from external threats in the long term, we support you in the design and implementation of processes for continuous risk mitigation and improvement of your structural/operational organization.
IT Performance Management
IT organizations have often grown historically, and both the system landscape and processes are complex and unclear. This has a direct impact on IT performance. Inefficiencies, unclear responsibilities and dependencies, and a lack of alignment with the needs of the business reduce the performance of the IT organization. With a structured approach, IT performance management identifies the processes and competencies that have a direct impact on the business result, so-called core IT services, on the provision and improvement of which a special focus should be placed. At the same time, the IT service structure must be viewed holistically and its efficiency and effectiveness increased through systematic IT service management (ITSM). For this purpose, the entire portfolio of processes and services is analyzed with regard to their degree of documentation, their actual implementation and possible classification in a standardized framework (e.g. ITIL). Based on this, a higher-level management model must be established that maps the entire IT service portfolio with its SLAs and OLAs.
IT Cost Effectiveness
In order to maintain or even increase innovative strength in the face of constant cost pressure, many IT organizations have to generate their innovation budget from their own resources. However, IT organizations often lack transparency about cost structures and the associated main cost drivers. In addition, considerable financial resources are tied up in infrastructure and operations (operations or run activities), so that the funds required for forward-looking projects are lacking. With a tight IT budget and no possibility to build up positions, we help CIOs to save costs at the right starting points and to create free employee capacities. The basis for this is the establishment of sustainable cost management with effective management components.
Zero Defect in IT Operations
In many organizations, internal IT does not have the best reputation. Many services do not function according to the expectations of internal customers, or disruptions even prevent the efficient use of services, causing significant damage to the business through lost productivity or missed business. With the Zero-Defect-Approach you can significantly increase the performance of your IT and your customer satisfaction. Based on a strategic analysis and evaluation of the service portfolio, those services are identified that are of strategic importance to the business, as well as those where the business suffers the most pain due to frequent or serious errors. For the identified TOP services, measures including implementation time and costs are derived using the zero-defect approach. In co-ordination with the business unit, a joint implementation roadmap and a concept for continuous quality improvement of the services are then drawn up.
IT Risk Management
IT risk management is an essential component of every IT organization and the basis for the secure operation of IT services in the company. In our experience, the difficulty in implementing IT risk management usually lies in embedding the required processes deep within the entire IT organization. For this, it is fundamentally necessary to consider all relevant interface areas, such as IT governance, the service portfolio and the infrastructure. It has been shown that only complete integration of the required processes into the entire IT organization leads to sustainable success and also meets the requirements of the certification standards.
Project Readiness & Turnaround
Over and over again, large IT projects go wrong. Costs explode, goals are missed or timelines are negelcted. To prevent this from happening, we support you in creating all the prerequisites for a successful project in advance. This includes a consistent alignment with the strategy, the definition of the business case, the set-up of the project organization including control mechanisms, a clear requirements management and the selection of the right service provider. If there are already difficulties on a project, it can also be brought back on track. We support you in achieving the turnaround of your IT projects. For the project turnaround, we analyze the factors and backgrounds that led to the crisis situation in the project with you. Based on this, we evaluate costs, progress and personnel resources in order to develop and implement a sustainable stabilization and turnaround plan. This way your project will be led back to success.
Our consulting services
Why 4C?
We support you in establishing a sustainable approach for operational excellence in your IT organization and aligning your processes with the needs of the business. In addition, we will assist you in the establishment of the Target Operation Model and the management of your ITSM processes as temporary co-pilots and accompany you in the implementation and acceptance of your Operational Excellence. We will help you to overcome the pitfalls and hurdles on your way or to find another way that will bring you to your goal.
Our consulting services at a glance
The process for designing Operational Excellence comprises all the necessary components, from controlling ITSM processes and aligning IT with the needs of the business to a Target Operating Model adapted to the values and culture of the IT organization:
Consulting project
As part of a consulting project, we support you in the implementation of your operational excellence and the necessary components as well as the anchoring of a sustainable ITSM management model that ensures that your IT is capable of acting for the changes that occur in the company, the market or the technology.
Why 4C?
We have experts on the necessary topics to ensure a holistic view of the CIO area and its anchoring in the company and its business models. The combination of IT DNA, IT process control and mobilization for the necessary changes at all levels as well as the experience of the concrete challenges during implementation guarantee sustainable operational excellence. Experience – We advise our clients on a wide range of IT and digitization issues and accompany them from strategy to implementation.
4C GROUP offers its customers implementation success.
If you share our approaches and want to take your IT to a new level to meet the challenges of your business and the autonomy of your business, please contact us.
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Our experts for Operational Excellence in IT
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