MarketWorks working for you in your market

Business expects IT to bring down costs, while providing excellent support, while building new business capabilities, in a constantly changing environment.

These requirements contradict each other because there is a inherent tension between delivering service, reducing cost and reducing risk. In order to meet these business expectations the CIO and his or her management team needs to be proficient in skills different from traditional IT expertise. A recent CIO survey indicates that the three key skills required by the CIO were the ability to communicate effectively, strategic thinking and planning, and the ability to lead and motivate staff. These three skills all scored over 50% in the survey, while technical proficiency was ninth on the list of ten key skills at 10%.

MarketWorks Advisory has developed our CIO Advisory programme to accommodate business expectations of the CIO and his or her management team, specifically aimed at allowing the senior IT team to focus on business priorities while not losing sight of IT essentials.

The CIO Advisory programme takes the CIO and the IT management team through a structured journey in acquiring and applying leading practice IT management expertise. The programme is supported by domain expertise and over 300 international Datamonitor, ButlerGroup and Computerwire analysts.

Our Research Advisory service leverages your subscription to the DATAMONITOR research databases and provides you with access to experts who are skilled in contextualising international material to Southern African client requirements. Your retainer assures you that research related to specific issues important to your organisation is tracked and brought to your attention.

Benefits

Relevant information

The DATAMONITOR, ButlerGroup, Ovum and ComputerWire research services provide more than 2000 reports and briefs every year, while giving you access to their company and contracts databases as well as their interactive models.

Overview of Transaction Assurance

Our transaction assurance offering provides the guidance and direction that assures that services contracted by clients are delivered according to expectations and contract. We ensure good governance is and that the client achieves the benefits envisaged by the transaction.

Benefits of MarketWorks Advisory Transaction Assurance offering

MarketWorks offers independent Advisory and Assurance services accelerated by research, best practice and local expertise. Our Placement and Development Advisory is an assurance service in partnership with Profweb. This service provides interim, contract based or permanent candidates with support from a performance coach on the one hand while at the same time providing advice to the individual and the organisation about the effectiveness of the position and the objectives of the organisation relative to that role. Our advisors have access to the best practice databases of our principal, Datamonitor.

The Placement and Development Advisory service can be supported by research and online collaboration through the Executive Advisor portal.

Outsourcing advisory commences with the establishment or clarification of the rationale for outsourcing and the definition of scope. The internal organisational situation (in terms of principles, current capabilities, risk profile and business drivers) and the external market capabilities are key things to consider before embracing the potential cost savings associated with the available sourcing options.

This assumes that the sourcing strategy and options have been finalised. Ovum advocates the view that, from a buyer perspective, an understanding of the strategic reasoning behind a sourcing decision should be solidified before entering into the selection and negotiation phase. The reality, however, is that there is substantial pressure to realise savings and release cash as quickly as possible.

Strategic sourcing is a critical component of any cost management drive, and must be seen on a par with business strategy alignment, process interdependencies and operational awareness. As such, strategic sourcing must be seen as a key step by any executive considering the efficient and effective management of their enterprise.

Sensitive topics need a people oriented approach. One of the best we have seen and used is "The Conversation Model" from Games Foxes Play by Chantell Illbury and Clem Sunter. The model serves as an agenda for a strategic conversation. If you have ever experienced a merger, acquisition or considered the threat of competition carefully, you will know that a strategic approach is essential, if not critical.

The strategic conversation includes the clarification of "the meaning of winning" from two perspectives, one "defining the game" and two, "playing the game."

The steps in defining the game are:

1. Scope - what are the boundaries?
2. Players - who are the stakeholders?
3. Rules - what are the rules of the game?
4. Uncertainties - what are the key uncertainties?
5. Scenarios - what are the likely outcomes if we play this game by these rules? 

The steps for playing the game are: