PHASE 3: FUTURE STATE ROADMAP OR DESIGN
The Challenge: How Do We Repair the “House?”
When you’re buying a house, it’s important to identify any problems or defects that need to be fixed as well as how this will be accomplished before finalizing the purchase. You work with the seller to develop a blueprint of what must be done to rectify all the issues. This same thought process can be applied to the development of your company’s IT Asset Management program. Once the gaps and risks in your existing program have been identified, it is time to develop a plan describing how you will resolve these issues and move forward.
In Phase 3 of our ITAM Program Development methodology, Future State Roadmap or Design, the experts at Siwel Consulting develop the ITAM roadmap or a detailed design that best fits the requirements of your organization.
The Solution: Future State Roadmap or Design
The objective of this phase is to provide an in-depth understanding of how to close the gaps and eliminate the risks to achieve the desired future state ITAM program. Siwel leverages current best practices and technologies to reduce overall program costs and minimize impact on day-to-day operations.
Siwel’s ITAM Program Development methodology includes a choice of two options for Phase 3: Future State Roadmap or Design, depending on how much detail your organization requires.
Future State Roadmap: If your company simply requires an outline to use as a guide for internal design and development of a complete ITAM program, Siwel provides the Future State Roadmap. The roadmap consists of recommendations on the processes, tools, organization and data that should be put in place to fill in the missing links identified in Phase 2.
Future State Design: If your company requires more detailed instructions on how to build a complete ITAM program, Siwel provides the Future State Design. The design consists of a playbook that describes specific process workflows, tools and organizational recommendations, providing a “play-by-play” on how to close the gaps identified in Phase 2 to achieve your desired ITAM program.
Which option is right for your organization? While the Future State Roadmap paves the way for your organization to develop a plan in-house, the Future State Design provides a much richer and more detailed blueprint. A Siwel Future State Design incorporates a set of ITAM best practices developed and honed during more than 12 years spent overcoming nearly every conceivable ITAM challenge. This unmatched level of expertise ensures that your organization benefits from a more robust and effective program, designed and implemented faster than doing it internally. You realize a greater return in a shorter time frame – lower costs, lower risk, and the confidence you need to make better decisions throughout the IT asset life cycle.
Requirements
Siwel uses the results of Phase 2, Analysis and Findings, as the basis for the Future State Roadmap or Design. Additionally, Siwel requires access to historical information such as contracts and purchase agreements from hardware and software vendors and resellers, and documentation on standards, policies and processes with respect to IT assets. Siwel also needs access to key stakeholders and staff who are knowledgeable about existing ITAM processes, tools and data.
Deliverables
At the conclusion of the Future State Roadmap or Design phase, Siwel delivers a document that includes the following information.
Future State Roadmap
Recommendations for:
- Processes that need to be improved, such as procurement, asset disposal, true-up and audit
- Tools that need to be enhanced, better integrated or utilized, such as procurement, discovery, software license management and asset repository
- Organizational recommendations including roles, responsibilities and training
Future State Design
- Process workflows for new and modified processes such as full lifecycle IT asset management, including request, procure, receive, deploy, IMAC, retire and dispose
- Tools recommendations, including best-of-breed solutions to meet organizational requirements
- Resource requirements, including the appropriate skill sets required to ensure success of the future ITAM program
Benefits
Just as the home inspector provides a roadmap or plan for getting a house in tip-top shape before purchase, Siwel delivers a Future State Roadmap or Design that documents what your organization needs to achieve a more robust and effective ITAM program.
While the Future State Roadmap sets the stage for your organization to design a plan in-house, the Future State Design provides a detailed playbook for implementing the solution and serves as the foundation for Phase 4 of Siwel’s ITAM Program Development methodology: Solution Deployment. Another benefit of the Future State Design option is that Siwel identifies cost savings opportunities within your existing ITAM program. Just as spending money for home improvements today often saves money over time, such as sealing windows to conserve on heating costs, or eradicating termites before structural damage worsens, investing in an improved ITAM program always results in savings. In fact, the Gartner Group predicts that the introduction of an effective ITAM program will reduce your company’s cost per asset by as much as 30% the first year, and then 5-10% annually for the next 5 years.
Why Siwel?
Siwel helps organizations deal with the new and significant realities of IT Asset Management and has been designing and implementing successful ITAM solutions for Fortune 50 through middle market companies since 1998. Through this experience, the Siwel team has learned that to be successful, your ITAM program must combine real-time and accurate business intelligence with business analytics that enable your organization to make important strategic and financial decisions. Whether you engage Siwel to advise on a contract or audit issue, to identify gaps, risks and opportunities for cost-savings in your current ITAM program, to develop a comprehensive new program for you to run, or to manage your entire ITAM program in the cloud, your organization will benefit from real-time and accurate data that is analyzed and interpreted by the foremost experts in their field.