5 reasons to utilize IT portfolio management
Every company has goals and strategies in place, but they often become disjointed at the department level. This is especially true surrounding IT departments because of the large amount of time, resources and number of employees typically involved in IT. This interdepartmental division can be mended with the creation of an IT portfolio.
An IT portfolio is an index of ongoing resources and projects the IT department has. Having one means keeping track of what the department spends its time, money and resources on. However, maintaining it is key to its usefulness. This is called IT portfolio management.
IT portfolio management, often carried out by a portfolio manager within or outside of a business, is the systematic regulation of the IT portfolio according to the business’s goals and strategic plan. IT portfolio management improves the ebb and flow of resource allocation within the IT department, which benefits the business as a whole.
Here are 5 reasons to utilize IT portfolio management:
- Know when to upgrade: Being a digital leader is essential to every IT department in this modern age. Without clear tracking and analysis of what your IT department does have, you can’t make informed decisions on what systems need to go, what you need to keep and what needs to be upgraded now. With IT portfolio management in place, there’s no guessing. Upgrades can be made when it is the most important time for the company as a whole.
- Save money: To continue adding applications and processes means adding more expenses in your business’s budget. To monitor this, an IT portfolio is key. Businesses can actually save money when acquiring new technologies as long as they transfer the information from the legacy system to the new system, and stop paying to maintain the legacy system. Ending contracts and updating systems may not happen in the most cost effective or efficient way if the processes aren’t managed in an IT portfolio.
- Align department and company goals: The IT portfolio manager allocates funds and resources according to the department’s goals as well as the company’s goals as a whole. If the department or a leader within the department wants funds and resources to be used for a special project but it doesn’t align with the entire company’s goals, then the project will be put on the backburner for the time being. This ensures that the projects with the highest priority are completed first and less resources are wasted on less important projects.
- Improve interdepartmental collaboration: IT departments are often seen as the lone wolf of the company pack because other departments don’t understand what the IT department does outside of fixing their technical problems. Portfolio management requires transparency of IT funds, resources and projects throughout the company (and other departments with the IT department), so the likelihood of improving collaboration between the departments is only a matter of time. Transparency through the portfolio increases communication and collaboration, which, in turn, harmonizes the entire company, bringing it closer to its goals.
- Focus on investment: IT departments often have large budgets and may be under scrutiny for the various items they purchase and for what amounts. The portfolio lists the costs of items for budgetary purposes, but it also lists the investments those purchases create. This can be seen as a cause and effect scenario. For example, the cost to buy new computers for the finance department may be a large portion of the budget, plus the time allotted to make the upgrades, but now the entire finance department can use the newest software available. In turn, the contract for the legacy software ends and the company as a whole saves money while also improving its finance department.
Managing your IT portfolio doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. Having a consultant from Confiance manage your IT portfolio means company resources and employee time will be spent improving the company as a whole without bias.
For more information about Confiance’s IT Portfolio Management and other managed services, visit this link.
