Homeinsightsa more strategic approach to IT investments for successfully navigating the current economic context
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a more strategic approach to IT investments for successfully navigating the current economic context

Habib Lopez, Head of Barcelona office & Alain Geerts, Head of Governance & Service Management · August 24, 2023

The current European economic landscape presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities for the digital transformation of enterprises. Managing and leveraging them is crucial to ensure the relevance and adaptability of your IT strategy.

The European economy has shown resilience in a difficult global context, with lower energy prices, easing supply constraints and a strong labour market supporting moderate growth in the first quarter of 2023. This has allayed fears of a recession and improved the outlook for economic growth, although inflation has also been revised upwards.

IT portfolio management must adapt to this economic context. During periods of growth, organisations often have the financial flexibility to invest in new technologies and innovative projects. However, with current inflation rates, a more strategic approach to investment is needed, focusing on projects that deliver immediate value and contribute to operational efficiency.

In a difficult economy, project targets may have to be reduced, timelines shortened, and budgets revised downwards. The emphasis is then on delivering value quickly and efficiently, with less margin for error. In addition, with current inflation rates, there may be a greater review of IT spending and a greater demand for transparency. This requires effective communication and stakeholder management, ensuring that the value and justification for IT projects are clearly articulated.

In this tough economic landscape, IT portfolio management is a crucial tool that helps address the challenges of a company’s technology investment strategy in a number of ways:

strategic alignment

IT portfolio management aligns projects with strategic objectives, ensuring that investments are directed to initiatives that deliver the greatest value. In the face of inflation and economic uncertainty, it is important to prioritise projects that contribute to operational efficiency and immediate value.

resource optimisation

IT portfolio management promotes efficient resource management, ensuring that available resources are used efficiently. In an unfavourable economic climate with possible constraints on contracting or purchasing, this management becomes particularly valuable.

cost control

IT portfolio management tools provide cost management capabilities, enabling the tracking and control of project costs. In an environment where IT spending is more closely scrutinised, this helps maintain budget discipline and ensure financial accountability.

agility

An IT portfolio management tool should support agile project management methodologies with an emphasis on flexibility, adaptability and delivering value in increments. This can help organisations respond more effectively to economic changes, adjusting their project plans and priorities as needed.

stakeholder communication

It is critical that IT portfolio management supports effective stakeholder communication and management, ensuring that the value and justification for IT projects is clearly articulated. This is especially important in challenging economic times, where there may be a greater demand for transparency and accountability.

The current economic context reinforces the need for dynamic and responsive strategic management of IT investments. This means being flexible and responsive, aligning your IT portfolio with the economic context, managing projects effectively in different economic conditions, and communicating the value of IT investments to stakeholders.

IT portfolio management and the tools that support it are more important than ever to successfully navigate the current economic context.

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