A couple of years ago, Gartner introduced the concept of business-led IT as a strategic way for IT departments to address the challenge of business units independently acquiring IT solutions.
As an IT consulting partner, we often find ourselves in the middle of these struggles, working as a liaison between business units and IT. After seeing this scenario play out at multiple customers, we decided to launch our new Lighthouse managed services offering to provide customers with a trusted partner they can work with to create an “on rails” experience that works in everyone’s best interest.
Since this is a tricky topic, we thought we’d try to illustrate these concepts so that we can more clearly highlight the advantages that Lighthouse offers to customers — both now and in the future.
Changes in IT Buying Habits
The rise of the cloud — and specifically the surge in Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions — has dramatically disrupted traditional IT spending habits. After years of looking the other way at “shadow IT” solutions, IT departments are now dealing with the direct threat of business units independently acquiring their own IT solutions.
According to a recent Gartner study, this shift in buying habits has resulted in business units controlling as much as 36-40% of the IT annual spending. What’s more, this shift has also caused business units to bring in their own team of technologists to help drive these initiatives. Here, Gartner estimates that approximately 41% of an organization’s technology staff is now working outside of the IT department.
Moving Towards a Business-Led IT Strategy
At this point, Pandora’s box has been opened and there’s no going back. If anything, the shift towards business-led IT initiatives only figures to expand over time.
Smart IT departments have come to grips with this and are stepping up with this business-led IT approach, working hand in hand with the business side to map out the tech journey together. At the end of the day, it’s all about teaming up to make sure tech choices really gel with what the business needs.
The SaaS Problem
At this stage, a significant portion of spend from individual business units comes in the form of SaaS subscriptions. Last year, Productiv conducted a study that showed the average SaaS portfolio for modern enterprises has grown to 371 SaaS solutions.
Although SaaS solutions often add tremendous value, they are not always the bright red easy button that business units are hoping for. Some common challenges we see business units encounter here include the following:
SaaS vendors are really adept at glossing over functional gaps and sometimes these gaps aren’t discovered until after the solution is adopted.
In order to get the most out of a SaaS solution, you typically need to integrate it with other key business systems.
If data is scattered across multiple SaaS solutions, reporting can become very difficult.
Many SaaS solutions have limited customization options, so it can be easy to outgrow these solutions over time.
Enter Bowdark Lighthouse
Bowdark Lighthouse was designed from the ground up to provide business units with a one-stop shop to drive digital transformation initiatives:
Strategy & Advice: Our team of expert technical and solution architects are there to guide you through the technology maze and work closely with your IT department to map out your tech journey. We help you make informed purchasing decisions and avoid the pitfalls of SaaS solutions gone wrong.
Custom Development: Using affordable low-code technology solutions like the Microsoft Power Platform, we help you fill in functional gaps by innovating around the edges with your existing business systems. From web and mobile extension apps to workflow automation solutions, systems integration, AI adoption, and reporting/analytics, we provide fusion teams that can lead the charge with continuous improvement projects.
Change Management: Our change management and business process specialists are there to continually refine/optimize business processes and drive adoption of new solutions.
Maintenance & Support: We provide on-going maintenance and support of the solutions we develop using a “we build it, we run it” approach.
On-Demand Resources: We provide on-demand access to specialty IT resources that can parachute in to solve pressing issues. For business units struggling to build their own staff of internal technologists, this can be a great option for reducing costs.
License & Cost Management: SaaS and cloud licensing terms are complex and it’s easy to get lost in all the legal/technical minutiae. That’s where our expert team can step in and help you cut on-going subscription costs and make more informed buying decisions.
Check out this video link to learn more about how Lighthouse works.
Why Lighthouse?
The main reason we launched Lighthouse was because we feel like business units need a partner that they can trust to help them maximize their IT investments. After all, the modern technology landscape can be a big and scary place — especially if you don’t eat, sleep, and breathe tech.
With Lighthouse, it’s like having access to your own personal technology sherpa — but at a manageable and predictable cost. Based on our subscription-based model, you can scale up/down based on business demand, so you’re not locked into a large team or ongoing payroll and training expenses.
Perhaps most importantly, our fusion team-based approach complements your team in such a way that everyone can play to their respective strengths. As business leaders, you know exactly what you need; we just provide the tech knowledge and discipline to streamline the digital transformation process so that the business can move forward.
If your company is looking to refine its business-led IT strategy, we’d love to help. You can book a free consultation here to learn more about Lighthouse and whether or not it’s right for your business. Or you can head over to our website to get more information at Bowdark Lighthouse: IT Managed Services Fit for Your Needs.
