IT advice? Sales managers, do you micro-manage your sales teams from details in the CRM? If salespeople sense that entering all their leads and all the data points they know about every customer and deal in the CRM will bring down waves of criticism and micro-management FAR beyond what they would deal with just tracking their prospects in an old-school manual way (even including getting into trouble for not using the CRM!)… again – they will act in their own best interests. In this case, sadly, that self-interest will be completely opposite company-interest.
Recent incidents should serve as sufficient motivation: Yahoo – 3.5 billion account details were hacked in two different breaches. Every single account on a system serving nearly half of the world’s population in 2013-14 (not fully disclosed until 2017). Sony Motion Pictures – hacked by a group working with North Korea and used sensitive stolen data to force Sony to cancel the release of a movie about Kim Jong Un in 2014. Anthem Health – 80 million customers’ identity and health insurance records were breached in 2015. Equifax – 146 million customers’ detailed credit records and social security numbers were breached in 2017.
Transitions can be among the most daunting and complex business events for leaders to navigate, and it is often the technology aspects of the change which lead to failure. For this reason, providing Transitional IT Leadership is one of Innovation Vista’s core service offerings. Our experienced consultants have been involved with multiple transitions of various kinds, and bring their expertise to bear on our clients’ challenges: Turnaround of failing companies or IT departments; Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A); Transition to new business models or markets; Change in exit strategy – private equity and IPO strategies; Interim IT leadership to coach successor or as preparatory to M&A. Transition events bring a unique set of challenges which not only add to, but significantly complicate, the ongoing workload involved with successfully operating an IT platform. Other organizations have an interest in unique longer-term IT leadership arrangements: Virtual CIOs – who fill the traditional CIO role as the “head of Information Technology” as a consultant, often part-time &/or remote; Fractional CIOs – who fill the role of CIO for 2 or more organizations at the same time. These structures don’t make sense for every organization, but they may offer a nice solution for some small and midsize companies seeking experienced leadership for lower compensation costs than they would have traditionally paid a full-time CIO.
Any business should aim to have an IT consultant! Business owners are always looking for new ways to improve customer satisfaction. Technology can help achieve this goal when implemented in the right way. Current technologies enable businesses to communicate with their customers easily and efficiently. The technologies also help employees to improve their productivity and efficiency. IT consultants can advise businesses on the best technologies to adapt to improve their efficiency. The most appropriate technology depends on the nature of business and number of users. Discover a few extra details on innovation consulting.
A thing any CEO should know about cybersecurity: Cyber-attacks and security breaches will occur and will negatively impact your business. Today, the average cost of the impact of a cyber breach is $4.9 million. Further, it is incumbent upon CEOs to learn more about cybersecurity to ensure their company is taking appropriate actions to secure their most valuable information assets. This does not mean that every CEO needs to become a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP). Rather, CEOs should increase their knowledge of core cybersecurity concepts and leverage their own leadership skills to conceptualize and manage risk in strategic terms, understanding the business impact of risk.
Innovation Vista’s unique methodology for all engagements relating to strategic change, transformation and transition starts with a key step: we BUILD TRUST FIRST. We believe not only that it leads to success; we believe something like it is absolutely required for projects like these to succeed! Gartner reports that 75% of Digital Transformation initiatives will fail, highlighting particularly higher risks when these are seen as “IT Projects”. That is a daunting estimate, but one based on real facts and track records. ..and one we believe is based on human nature.
