To demonstrate how to use this new process, we are seeking out case studies – external and internal – and stories gathered from our executives on value that has been gained through enterprise planning. We are also sharing hard data gained from our pilot in the corporate function, such as the benefits of consolidating enterprise training systems. This project saved a relatively small amount of money, but it demonstrates the efficiencies that will be magnified once everyone is planning and executing in this manner.

The business was in a kind of project paralysis when I got here, with no way to prioritize or operationalize the ideas coming out of the new-product development groups. At the same time, like most, our focus was on cutting costs and finding efficiencies. I created a matrix to allow for discussion, evaluation and prioritization of our project portfolio, and started fresh with all of our IT outsourcing contracts by asking for new bids and signing new deals. With this more competitive cost structure, we saved almost 75 percent on what we had been spending, and brought projects to successful completion. We reinvested that money back into IT by creating a new business analyst staff position, a role that has proven to be critical to project success.

With those resources, IT was also able to help create new market research tools, tweak our existing ones and bring them all to production faster than before. These tools are the core of our business, and as the economy picks up and companies seek advice on evaluating their markets, we are coming out far stronger than before due to the reinvestments we have made.

We are also looking closely at cloud computing, which seems like a natural fit – while our surveys must be available 24/7, they don’t use a constant level of bandwidth. We don’t yet know what advantages could be realized in a shared environment, but we now have the resources to find out.

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