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Automation Powers the Benefits of Agile

When I was CIO at Cuscal, Agile methodologies were introduced as a response to a development crisis. One of the major and time critical programs was in trouble of missing its deadlines. Our recently hired Development Executive suggested that we should introduce Agile methods to break the logjam. So we hired an Agile Coach, created a scrum master role, reorganised the teams and began our Agile journey. Continue reading “Automation Powers the Benefits of Agile”

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Reimagine customer experience to unlock value

Most companies want to improve customer experience, lower costs and increase revenues. But only a few are actually successful at achieving these goals. It is not that they are not forward-looking. They have many improvements initiatives in different areas of the business. But the cumulative effect of these initiatives is still not sufficient to move the dial on overall performance.

Continue reading “Reimagine customer experience to unlock value”

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Digital Payments – Opportunity or Threat

The volume of digital payments worldwide is soaring and will reach $5 trillion by 2020. This growth is fuelled by new payment systems that are designed to work seamlessly with mobiles, in-app methods or via browsers. There has been huge innovation in this area by the banks, software giants like Apple, and fintechs. This growth creates new opportunities and risks for the retail banks. Continue reading “Digital Payments – Opportunity or Threat”

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Why Change Programs fail?

Most of the IT projects impact the way work is being done in the organisation. In order to get value or benefits from these changes, it is necessary that these system or process improvements are actually utilised and become part of the new way of doing work. This requires change management.

Transformation projects such as core systems replacement or even major outsourcing have a significant impact on the way business operates in an organisation. Here, change management becomes integral to the project success. While most IT and other senior executives understand the need for effective change management, in reality many projects fail to deliver the full potential due to the mistakes in change management. Continue reading “Why Change Programs fail?”

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Can CIOs avoid politics?

Typical CIO Attitudes to Politics

Many CIOs are scared of organisational politics and think it is a dirty business. Often CIOs come from a technology background and technical expertise is their forte. Politics, and wheeling and dealing are not their comfort zone. They focus their energy on finding the best technology solutions for the business’s problems. The CIO’s daily battles are about up-time  service delivery, and project delivery. They shy away from business level politics wherever they can. Many CIOs see politics as a ‘necessary evil’ or some sort of ‘game’ to play. Those who tend to look at politics in this way tend not to be very good at dealing with company politics. Continue reading “Can CIOs avoid politics?”

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What Questions the Board Should Ask Of IT

Introduction

Board AgendaMost reports to board about the performance of Information Technology group’s performance relate to costs related metrics such as headcounts and expenses. But as the world is changing, topics such as digital business models, process automation and changing skill mix needed to support organisation’s aspirations are becoming more relevant to organisations success. How IT manages the integration of new technologies can help determine the success of the digital strategy. Hence, just relying on the cost related metrics does not provide a reliable indicator of IT performance. Continue reading “What Questions the Board Should Ask Of IT”