Question

ABX, a manufacturing company with annual revenues of $15 million, has been in business for 25 years. What three (3) key strategies should a CIO consider to manage/reduce "I.T. Complexity"? Which of these key strategies might be ABX's optimal choice? Explain the rationale for your choice.

Answer 1

ABX is a manufacturing company, hence the use of IT would not be as high as other sectors, but yet the should make sure that they do spend a reasonable amount of resources on the It so that the processes get eased and not complex. Deploying new IT technology in once a while would not only increase cost but also the Complexity, one would have to make sure the proper development and execution, plus they would have to train human resources in due course, which is a costly and complex affair. Further said sometimes such upgrades cannot be avoided, but they can be planned by CIO in such a way that IT complexities are kept at the minimum, Let us see at 3 key strategies a CIO should consider to manage/reduce "I.T Complexity"

1) Follow key trends of IT in the Manufacturing sector - The CIO should keep eye on the key trends happening of IT in the Manufacturing sector, this would enable the company to keep eye on what new is happening in the sector and what IT strategies the competitors are using these days, this would allow ABX to make necessary changes and adopt the required technology, if it is a necessity/lagging behind. This would help ABX to upgrade to the ongoing tech platform according to the industry trends. Usually, the ongoing trends are widely accepted in the industry and there are proper channels of implementations widely available.

2) Understand the business and its requirement - The CIO should understand the business of ABX and then analyse the requirement of IT in it, He should try to implement/suggest the only required IT solutions and not to complicate the matters further. An IT package could be developed by sourcing it to a third-party vendor as per the requirements.

3) Training the Human resource - The employees who would directly work on IT of the company should be Qualified Professional and should be trained properly so that their potential is used at optimal capacity and Complexities should not halt any kind of operation, as they would have potential to diagnose any complexity which arises in the process.

ABX Should mainly adopt the second strategy, Understanding the business and its requirement, this would not only help them in adopting the required IT solutions and keeping the cost low but also in reducing the IT complexities. In this, they would only adopt the required technology according to their business needs, and which would be sourced to a 3rd party vendor, who would provide proper training and look over the implementation of the IT solutions.