executive insights DISAGGREGATION Breaking UP is not that hard to do

Transcription

1 executive insights DISAGGREGATION Breaking UP is not that hard to do

2 executive insights DISAGGREGATION Business disaggregation is a familiar undertaking as organisations everywhere are driven by economic need to implement strategic restructuring. This means that meticulous planning and constant management are vital to keeping the impact on operational and trading activities to a minimum. The challenge spans economic, financial and personnel interests, and directly affects employees livelihoods. Information and data are at the core of the process, and at its very heart lies Information Technolog y. WHY READ THIS DOCUMENT? This document articulates some of the areas where problems can occur before and during an IT disaggregation and illustrates how the unique Fujitsu Service Aggregator Model helps to overcome these hurdles and provide IT management with guidance, direction and a route map for success. Let us be clear when it comes to disaggregation of an IT estate, it is NOT simply about making a copy of the existing data and then replicating it elsewhere. The actual complexities cannot be fully captured in a programme plan because they span the tangible and intangible. What is needed is a guide through the common pitfalls with proven options to manage them successfully.

3 The Challenge Just where do we start? How can we make this seamless and not lose the focus on delivering business as usual at the same time? What controls do we measure? These are all good questions and when considering the disaggregation of an IT estate there are some key elements to the challenge that need to be considered to achieve a successful outcome. Alignment of business goals In a disaggregation, one organisation breaks away from a larger one. The part that breaks away changes from being a family member into a competitor, possibly under the ownership of a different organisation. Frequently, the business goals driving the disaggregation effort may not be aligned between the parent, the organisation being transitioned and the new organisation and the greater the non-alignment between the parties, the less successful the activity will ultimately be. Time Business challenges may individually or separately mandate that an IT disaggregation is completed in a very tight timescale. It is not unusual for businesses to plan to disaggregate over a twelve or eighteen month timeframe. Realistically, for a large and complex organisation, a successful disaggregation will take between two and four years. To achieve a successful outcome every detail, piece of data, strategic and tactical decision, option and resource must be considered, assembled and actioned. If all the relevant parties aren t fully integrated early enough and if the raw programme governance isn t in place quickly enough, the success of the programme will be compromised from the very outset. The deadline might be met but at what true cost?

4 executive insights DISAGGREGATION Budget With all the strategic issues of a separation, the disaggregation of an organisation s IT systems is frequently overlooked at executive level. This is partly due to the fact that much of the complexity within the IT systems will only truly become apparent once the disaggregation task is under way. As a result, the budget for what may be a costly IT programme can be insufficient at the outset. The key message here is to be aware of the cost involved with the activity. Culture At a business level, it is important to recognise the potential impact of the change associated with disaggregation itself an awareness, appreciation and recognition of cultural nuances is essential. Disaggregation of IT environments touches every part of an organisation, and external changes can impact the work being done to disaggregate the IT. Some of these changes may arise from fundamental cultural differences that need to be overcome. Differences can be many and varied, individually small in scope but in combination representing a potential barrier to overall programme success. Examples include: the specific terminology employed by staff but not recognised externally; the language used to communicate with the end-customer, founded upon embedded processes and procedures; the obvious fact that everyone will not be used to working in a common way; or a lack of readiness for the changes that are about to take place.

5 Points that need to be considered include: Ensuring that IT change is not the subject of a separate change programme. Realising that there will be an impact on the speed of change in the rest of the organisation during the period of disaggregation. Don t expect that the new organisation will be able to cope with change there is generally a need to upscale on resource during the transition to be able to manage change effectively. Resentment associated with the loss of a part of the organisation, which can lead to decreased productivity, that will need to be managed. People Managing a disaggregation programme requires a team with accountability. A team in its own right, a team with a mandate. It is crucial that all parties recognise the business value that motivates the drive towards disaggregation if they have different views then it will cause problems. If goals are not aligned from the planning stages, special provision must be made to manage these situations. In the delivery of IT solutions and services, many organisations will have established working relationships with third-party suppliers. Where these relationships have existed for some time, all parties will know how best to work together and what is required of them. During the period of IT disaggregation many more supplier and provider relationships are likely to be required. Some of these may be for short or interim periods of time but are critical nevertheless. Overall, relationship management and understanding is fundamental to timely completion.

6 executive insights DISAGGREGATION Successful disaggregations have been implemented in the UK where the Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment Act has been used to transfer resources from the parent organisation into the programme team and from there into the organisation being separated. This ensures effective knowledge and skills transfer. Risk The key risk to the separation of two organisations is maintaining shared values. What starts as a requirement may change over the time of the separation or become less important. The departing organisation may have a new owner or start to set a new course wishing to ensure the separation spend is offering strategic value. These changes in agendas can adversely affect the programme s course, delivery, and most importantly, cost. No longer can existing relationships or lines of communication be relied on. What starts as a decision making body can quickly become nothing more than a discussion group. To remove these risks an independent manager of both the end-to-end risk and programme should ideally be appointed. This management offers a focal point for integrating the projects, synchronising the deliverables and above all, avoiding costly wait times or redundant deliverables. They can also ensure that timely decisions are made and that post-programme delivery strategic intents and values are maintained. It has to be expected that change will happen during a separation programme at all levels and effective planning for this will avoid failure. The separating organisation has a team full of people going through personal change so it is important to de-risk the impact that the broader journey might have. Disaggregations need to take a holistic view and devote proportionate time and resources to both tangible and intangible programme elements focusing only upon, say, the tangible parts introduces a high risk of failure.

7 What is the Fujitsu Service Aggregator model and what does it offer? The Fujitsu Service Aggregator Model provides a clear point of accountability to deal with the risk, complexities and pitfalls of an IT disaggregation programme. Using this model facilitates and enables service delivery through best-of-breed partners alongside client-preferred suppliers in a single governance structure. One data set, one plan and a single view of the world. Fujitsu s Service Aggregator Model is all about control and making everything work together seamlessly and sensibly! Service AGGREGATOR MODEL

8 executive insights DISAGGREGATION What are the benefits of this model? The benefits are material and very visible, even from day one of the programme they are all about unity. Without unity the programme will fail as the perception of success for each contributing organisation will be driven by their separate views of priorities. Misalignment of priorities leads to conflicts and strains on the delivery team. At worst, it can cause all parties to fail. In a merger or separation, much needs to be achieved by people working together effectively under considerable time pressure. It is critical that the underlying spirit is one of confidence and a can-do attitude. Planning smart and efficient working practices is known to reduce costs, optimise time and process and deliver the best results. It is part of Fujitsu s Japanese heritage to focus on effective planning and attention to detail and this is directly facilitated by the Service Aggregator Model. Fujitsu s way of working leverages a cultural spirit of organisational collaboration it is how the company operates. A simple, yet strong and robust governance structure is a key element of the Model. Using the Model provides a client with a single point of contact and accountability for the successful delivery of the whole programme. This means that a client has just one place to go to and one single source to find out information, which is crucial where timelines are on the critical path. As part of the governance structure of the Model, Fujitsu takes responsibility for the overall management of the disaggregation programme as well as management of the end-to-end risk. In this IT environment there may well be multiple suppliers delivering different parts of the programme.

9 The Model enables Fujitsu to establish an optimised governance structure between its function as service aggregator, the client and each supplier. This governance integrates relevant parties and suppliers and their plans into one single data set with accuracy and timeliness of communication. Fujitsu is driving the deployment of Lean from its traditional manufacturing heartland into the IT department. Service delivery is prioritised to achieve business outcomes, not technology measures. Deployment of lean principles helps eliminate waste whether it s unnecessary processes or excessive costs and streamline, simplify or automate work that cannot be eliminated. An essential part of the Service Aggregator Model is the provision of one plan at the beginning of the programme that everyone involved agrees to and accepts. Providing seamless co-ordination with clarity of direction and a single source of information in a common plan ensures that absolutely everyone has the same understanding. More than this, it facilitates progress updates and accuracy of milestone reporting. All are essential elements in an IT programme where timeliness is paramount and many strands of activity are being followed and co-ordinated. Through the Service Aggregator Model, Fujitsu manages all risk associated with the programme, deals with stress and avoids the pitfalls mentioned previously, making the service journey from start to finish as risk-free as possible.

10 executive insights DISAGGREGATION Value Governance It is also true that post disaggregation, organisations can fail to benefit from the full value of the newly formed organisation s capabilities. Fragmented systems of governance mean that much of what goes into an organisation can remain a mystery to its decision makers until it s too late. This fragmentation can be costly in terms of lost opportunities and risk to the success of the organisation.

11 The scale of modern day transformation means that businesses must answer several key questions if investments in IT services and infrastructure are to deliver what is required of them: What combination of investment initiatives will deliver the most potent set of business outcomes? How can delivery of benefits be assured? Is the organisation and its partners aligned in a way which fosters open and collaborative working towards complementary business goals? Fujitsu s Value Governance focuses on delivering increased speed and certainty of business value. The service The service includes the following elements: Portfolio Management the mechanisms and diagnostics by which management evaluates and selects the combination of IT and business change investments most closely aligned to their business drivers. Benefits Realisation an approach which helps organisations to meet the agreed outcomes and benefits from individual programmes and projects. Strategic Governance a framework which promotes organisational alignment and decision making to deliver greatest value from investment in IT and change. The outcome Increased clarity of the paths to real business outcomes. Early warning of benefit and value erosion. The benefits Maximise value proactive approach to delivering the benefits of an organisation s IT investment. Minimum risk increased visibility of performance and ability to react. Manage change capability to manage large scale and complex change objectively and dynamically. Organisational inter-working unites all parties behind a business outcome and value agenda.

12 executive insights DISAGGREGATION Lean TRANSFORMATION Once the disaggregation process has taken place, it is an ideal opportunity to extend the lean approach to other areas of the newly formed business. Fujitsu s lean diagnostic service will bring sustained transformation to organisational performance by pinpointing and eliminating wasteful processes.

13 The service Whether a business is embarking on a lean transformation programme, or simply needs some extra guidance, the lean transformation service provides a structured assessment of the current level of lean maturity and makes recommendations on the next steps to transformation. The assessment encompasses: Strategy and benefits. Leadership. Tools and methods. Lean architecture and support resources. Performance management. People development and recognition. Continuous improvement. The outcome A snapshot of the current state of lean transformation in the client organisation. A focus and prioritisation for the next steps in the lean transformation. The benefits Wider perspective broader areas of the business are encompassed, including leadership, line management capability, performance management, people recognition and reward and knowledge management. Proven benefits realisation and portfolio management approaches the prime areas to target are identified to get early benefits and build the business case for ongoing lean transformation. Value driven continually assess the value being delivered from the way we design and build services based on standardised components.

14 executive insights DISAGGREGATION Case study: BMI Background bmi acquired the BA franchise, BMED, in February 2007, increasing their network by 17 destinations in an additional 16 countries. The terms of the deal were such that bmi had to integrate these new routes and begin flying them as bmi on the 28th October The project faced all the issues normally associated with an integration of two companies across multiple markets. Solution Fujitsu had an important role to play in ensuring that on the 28th October, ex-bmed staff could access bmi s systems, as well as their legacy BMED information, and that all the systems required to operate an airline safely were available in 16 new countries. Working with bmi, Fujitsu used its global reach and partners in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe to coordinate the project closely, which included: Designing and building a new desktop standard and creating new users and mail accounts. Migrating servers and data. Creating new VPN tunnels and IP addressing schemes. Reconfiguring print queues and switches. Migrating the BMED data held in SAP to a format that was accessible and readable by bmi. Decommissioning a SAN at BMED s headquarters, moving, rebuilding and testing it at bmi s headquarters. Staffing a technical support centre over the cutover weekend at bmi headquarters to advise and assist both field engineers and the bmi support functions.

15 Results All work was completed to deadline such that, when the last aeroplane touched the ground on the 28th October as a BMED flight, it took off again as bmi flight. Likewise, as soon as ex-bmed employees logged a service request, the Fujitsu service delivery teams had a working knowledge of the new bmi systems. Fujitsu met all of its key milestone dates and was a significant contributor to the success of the BMED integration project. To co-ordinate the project closely, Fujitsu was required to use its global reach and work with Fujitsu partners in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. ABOUT fujitsu The Fujitsu Group: Invests $2bn per annum on R&D. Employs more than 160,000 people worldwide. Operates sales and support functions in more than 70 countries. One of the largest IT companies in the world. Follows lean business practices though our award-winning Sense and Respond approach. Specialises in the cost-effective industrialisation of IT.

16 Ask Fujitsu Contact us on: Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) Cert no. SA-CoC REF: 3001 Copyright: Fujitsu Services Limited All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of Fujitsu Services Ltd. Fujitsu Services endeavours to ensure that the information in this document is correct and fairly stated, but does not accept liability for any errors or omissions.