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The beginning of a New Year is the perfect time for companies to sit down and evaluate what is working in their organization and what is not. Companies need to be asking themselves real questions about the current state of their company, what will be the main corporate IT goals for 2015 and how they intend to implement them. Since no New Year’s resolution is of any use without an implementation plan, we’ve prepared a list of some of the top priorities for 2015 from CIOs and an implementation plan for how you can put your resolutions into practice in 2015.
1. Cybersecurity
CIOs are making cybersecurity their top priority for 2015. In particular, they will be putting focus on areas like risk assessment, governance, setting aside an appropriate budget to shore up digital government systems, etc. CIOs are focusing on aiming to guard against insider threats, and tightening up of current monitoring of third parties who are handling gradually more of the vital processes due to increased outsourcing.
How to implement:
- Define cybersecurity goals for your organization for 2015.
- Analyze your current cybersecurity and do a full risk-assessment of what it covers, what it lacks, where are the gaps that need to be filled and how it meets your needs in 2015 for increased cybersecurity.
- Do a risk-assessment of your current policy of monitoring third-parties, insider threats, outsourced applications, etc.
- Be honest about what you need to be effective and secure as an organization for 2015.
- Establish a budget.
- Establish a governance and risk-accountability plan.
- Shop around carefully for a service provider, or see if you have the ability to implement in-house.
2. Adopting Cloud Services
Adopting Cloud Services is set to be the second main priority for 2015. The focus will be placed on identifying and implementing a Cloud Services strategy, identification and selection of a provider, and adaptation of governance models. Here security is named as one of the main concerns as companies move services and applications to Cloud.
How to implement:
- It’s 2015! If you don’t have cloud, now is the year to get it!
- Identify what your Cloud Service Strategy will be.
- Identify and select what Service Provider will suit your needs.
- Focus on security issues in your Cloud Service Strategy.
3. Optimizing and Consolidating Services
Companies need to sit back and analyze what services need to be optimized to align with company goals and what services need to be consolidated or outsourced to provide greater efficiency. Some of CIO’s main focus points for 2015 will be streamlining multi-tenant cloud architecture, reducing IT footprint, outsourcing development and testing, and optimizing both physical and virtual infrastructures.
How to implement:
- Conduct an assessment of current services.
- Identify metrics for efficiency.
- Determine what services are obsolete and inefficient.
- Decide what services can be streamlined and consolidated.
- Clarify what portion of services can be outsourced.
- Define what new services are need and what budget is approved for that.
4. Focus on what you can do best!
Companies need to learn to “let go” in 2015 of micromanaging all IT services and applications in-house and start thinking smart about service providers.
- Keep your eyes focused on your organization’s goals for the New Year and figure out what areas are absolutely crucial to your organization to achieve and develop this year and what areas can be outsourced.
- Cost-cutting is not cheap behavior. It’s the ability to use your IT budget effectively and maximize the most potential out of it.
- First, figure out what services are obsolete, useless or down-right impractical in your IT department at the moment.
- Decide what services need to be in-house and what services or IT development you can afford to outsource.
- Typical items which will be outsourced in 2015 are database and virtual management of IT resources, testing, IT application development and quality control.
Wishing you a productive and effective 2015!
