In today’s rapidly evolving technology environment, enterprises are rethinking their network management strategies. One basic decision – driven by business requirements, talent and subjective managerial preference – is whether the overall design should be centralized or localized. Beyond this fundamental choice, an effective organizational design strategy should address a number of specific questions related to function and structure. These include:
- What functions if any need to remain tied to a location?
- What level of interaction – in terms of frequency and method – will the network and communication teams have with customers based on function? Should customer interactions be managed centrally or virtually?
- Should some functions (such as contact center admin) remain close to each business unit’s management team?
- Do any functions or work efforts need to be in close proximity to suppliers or providers? Can vendor relationships be managed centrally or virtually? What about remote or regional vendors?
- Are any specialized network or UC services provided? Can support of these specialized systems be shared across groups?
- What processes (e.g. provisioning, incident, continuous improvement, etc.) can be delivered independently of business or regional location?
- Where are decision-makers and financial resources located, and who will they engage with? What is the required interaction with managers?
- What geography-specific knowledge of regulation, privacy, and/or security are needed regarding specific regions?
Whatever organizational structure is chosen, success metrics should be designed and documented. Examples include:
- Expense Reduction- reduction in overall salary and benefits cost or other operating costs
- Operational Improvements – these include metrics around availability, provisioning, incident identification, notification and resolution and level of automation/SDN
- CSAT- improved business and end user survey scores following implementation
- Financial/Productivity – improved unit costs or reduction in the resources to deliver
- Standardization- reduced deviations or exceptions to technology standards, and/or increased use of existing technology investments
- Shadow Projects- reductions in the number of IT projects outside the IT domain or without IT involvement
- Project Delivery- improvements in delivery time and/or budget
- Network management- improved visibility on incident problems and/or reduction of chronic problems over time
- Portfolio Optimization- reductions in duplicate effort and/or projects and small number of resources focused on similar
- Customization- elimination of one-off and custom processes or solutions used abroad
In addition to measures of success, pitfalls to avoid must be considered. These include:
- Blind standardization- adherence to standards that produce so much rigidity and a lack of responsiveness that delay business operations. Global structures need to ensure that regional operations are empowered to align services with business requirements
- Poor Communication – lack of a communication plan that includes stakeholders, employees, and suppliers
- Lack of Governance- no steering committee and/or one without proper inputs and outputs or committees to ensure the success of the change
- Regional Isolation- excluding regional IT and support groups in the design process, strategy, and operational practices
- No Business Influence- removing resources that can manage and persuade business units to support IT initiatives and adhere to the global IT agenda.
- Technology Dissociation – failure to implement the necessary technology dependences or projects to optimize each area
While quantitative measures determine financial impact, qualitative criteria to consider include facilitating quick responses and communication to both regional and core business needs, establishing teams that are empowered to deliver within their charter and maintaining a localized focus while aligning with global priorities and continuous improvement programs.
About the author
Mark joined in September of 2012, bringing with him, extensive knowledge and experience in Network, Infrastructure, Telecommunications, and Call Center Solutions. Mark has over 20 years of experience managing, architecting, operating, and deploying telecommunications applications, call center solutions, and networking technology for global enterprises such as Citigroup, Mattel, and American Airlines.
