There needs to be a fundamental shift in IT from a technological mindset to a business one. If IT is going to collaborate with business then it needs to focus on the fact that business is the customer and IT is the service provider.
IT is too focused on simply delivering technology and is not focused enough on the fact that it is a service provider and a brand that needs to make itself seen by business. Marketing and public relations is just as important for IT brands as it is for any other brands. It's the way that IT will connect with its customers and gain new ones.
Who is the social consumer of IT? This is the question that IT needs to answer in order to connect with customers via the correct channels. Consumers today receive news in real time and learn about new products via social media. It makes sense then that IT should communicate with its customers though the channels they use. Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites are powerful tools that can be harnessed to create a bond with customers.
Accordingly, customers believe information they receive via social media more than information delivered via any other channel, like email, which could be seen as spam or simply deleted because inboxes are getting clogged up with advertising. What customers want is for brands to listen to, engage with, and respond quickly to them. A two-way communication stream between IT and its customers starts with connecting via the right channels. Choose wisely.
IT has been known to be disconnected from business, focused purely on getting the job done and not engaging with its customers. But in order to cater to the unique needs of each customer, IT needs to know who their customers are. This starts with understanding the personal aspect of every job. IT needs to see itself as providing a service that allow another person to do his job, not just implementing the technology.
Collaboration and communication are the backbone of an unbreakable business partnership. Berry believes that, at this stage, business does not trust IT, because IT comes in, completes a job and leaves, without discussing what it has done. Or worse, when business logs a call, there is no response from IT at all. Business sees IT as black hole that guzzles funds without justification as to why the funding is necessary or how the spending of funds will lead to profit in the future.
To change this IT needs to collaborate with its customers, and see itself as a service provider first and a technology provider second. If IT can evolve into a service-based industry then collaboration and that leads to robust business bonds will follow.
In recent months the IT industry has been abuzz with talk around the gap between business and IT. The two speak different languages, which means that there is a disconnect between what business wants and when IT can deliver it.
Business wants to see the bigger picture and it is IT's job to show it. If IT can make it clear that the funds it's spending will increase productivity, raise profits or save on other resources then perhaps business' back won't be put out when it receives the bill. If a middleman is necessary to translate business language into IT language, then that is something that IT as a service provider needs to take responsibility for.
IT is constantly evolving, which means that the South African IT industry also needs to evolve and not stagnate. What are other people doing? What are other countries doing? IT needs to be innovators and staying ahead of competition means being one step ahead at all times.
Although metrics is the proverbial thorn in IT's side, it is an important part of forming robust business partnerships. When it comes to business, you get what you measure, which is why it's critical that IT engages with business during any task, and explains what changes are being made. If business can understand that changes are being made to benefit it, then it will take ownership of that change and management buy-in is much more likely.
On the IT side, there needs to be a stock take on the skills that IT has at its disposal so that any gaps can be filled in order to create a resilient service provider.
The bottom line is that IT needs to make an organisational change that will meld it into a resilient service provider. Now while there is no standard roadmap to success for each IT brand, Berry's top tips are most certainly a good starting point.
