Dewa Consulting

Alignment of ICT to Business Strategy

 

 

One of the most crucial investments that organisations have to make is acquisition of appropriate technologies to drive their business. This makes decisions in selecting the right technologies, operating models and partnerships a critical function for executives and business leaders.

 

The realisation of maximum return from IT investment (ROI) requires that the selection of systems is guided by the organisation's strategy. While there may be a multitude of systems that can deliver well on a common business objective, a sound ROI study requires that a number of considerations be made:

​

• What is our organisation's vision, mission and goals?

• What are our strategic objectives?

• What does the value chain look like now and in the future?

• What are our key business processes?

• What does our geographical spread look like now and in the future?

• What is our growth strategy?

​

These are some of the key questions that Dewa Consulting seeks to address in ensuring alignment of ICT to business. This, coupled with Enterprise Architecture expertise, allows our team of experts to formulate a business-informed ICT Strategy. The strategy becomes the reference guide that ensures sound ICT investment decisions, thus ensuring that ICT supports and remains aligned to the organisation's strategic outlook.

Realising Strategic goals through Business Process Management (BPM)

 

 

Strategies are formulated in order to achieve strategic goals. But without sound operational efficiencies, any well crafted strategy becomes just another well worded document with no value. So how is Business Process Management critical in the realisation of strategic goals and objectives, and how does Dewa Consulting help its customers to achieve this?

​

Apart from changes in industry trends, consumer behavior and preferences, strategies change almost every 5 years, with new business strategic goals and objectives being defined. That means the delivery of services by an organisation needs to respond to these changes. BPM allows for continuous improvement to sustain operational excellence through ongoing business process analysis or review with an objective of identifying and unlocking bottlenecks and enhancing process controls through systems, policies, procedures and SOPs. 

​

Furthermore, it is also critical to continuously monitor the performance of these processes. Dewa Consulting, through the deployment of world class Business Process Performance Monitoring and Analytical tools, helps organisations monitor an control their day to day operations.

 

BPM thus becomes a critical component in the delivery of the business strategy and integral to organisations in their quest for operational excellence.

​

​

The strategic role of the Project Management Office (PMO)

 

PMOs have become a very critical part of most organisations in delivering on their strategic goals. The selection of projects and appropriate execution are an integral part of the organisation's success and realisation of maximum ROI. 

 

Project selection, which forms part of the Pre-initiation activities in Project Management, must be an intense and well thought through process that delivers a solid Business Case for investing in a proposed project. In order to ensure maximum benefit from project investments, Dewa Consulting makes Business Benefits Realisation an integral part of this process for its customers. This process not only allows for the organisation to track its project performance post its completion, but to make a decision at Pre-initiation if a project is worth the investment.

​

This approach, coupled with best practice-informed custom Project Management Frameworks, render PMOs a crucial function in the realisation of strategic goals and objectives through projects.

​

What is a Strategy Management Office (SMO) and why you need one?

 

The world of consulting is ever changing and responding to new market and industry trends and consumer behaviour and preferences. As such, companies must respond proactively to these inevitable changes. The SMO is a fairly new but very crucial strategic function in modern organisations.

 

While most organisations would have a dedicated Executive responsible for Strategy i.e. its execution, monitoring and control, for some the need to have a properly defined SMO with specialised sub functions has become a non negotiable for the realisation of strategic objectives. In essence, the SMO becomes the custodian of the organisation's balanced scorecard.

​

Dewa Consulting has invested extensively in researching this new phenomenon, and is well positioned to advise on its establishment and management. Through the integration of the organisation's conceptual dimensions, namely the mission and guiding principles, governance, processes and instruments as well as leadership and change, SMOs are undoubtedly going to become a crucial part of every future organisation that seeks to remain strategically competitive and relevant.

​

​