Towards a Comprehensive Model of Information Strategy

Strategic information planning is an important topic in practice as well as in research. Work so far has focused mainly on the planning process itself rather than on the actual information strategy as its output. The paper points out different approaches to substantiating the concept of information strategy with perhaps the most advanced approach being the system of plans approach. However, existing approaches are not satisfactory regarding their structure, completeness and rationales. We propose a more comprehensive model of information strategy that is argued to overcome the deficiencies of the existing approaches. Our model introduces the concepts of information infrastructure and information function. It helps to clarify ongoing discussions devoted to information strategy as a functional departmental strategy, to strategic alignment as well as to the role of the CIO and allows the integration of separate views on information strategy from different discipline

From Savings Mono-Line to Full-Service Bank: Growing ING Direct Spain

Started as a mono-line focused purely on savings, in late 2012 ING Direct Spain was becoming a full-service bank. To this end, the bank had substantially increased its product- and channel-portfolio. ING Direct Spain originally provided “simple”, “good value for money” products in an “easy to deal with” way at low cost supported by a direct model. But with the growth in its product portfolio during the previous decade and the ambitious goal of becoming a full-service bank, an increase in complexity seemed inevitable. Like many businesses in the global, digital economy, ING Direct Spain found it needed to decide which complexity created value for its customers and which one not. It also learned that IT can contribute to complexity and/or help manage complexity. This case offers a close look at challenges of growing a company by increasing product complexity to provide comprehensive yet simple services

Information strategy – research and reality

Strategic information planning and its output, the information strategy, are relevant topics in practice as well as in research. However, current research provides neither a clear nor a consistent picture regarding the concept of information strategy. While unsatisfactory in itself, research in such a state probably also fails to provide practitioners with guidance in developing information strategies. Since practitioners nevertheless widely discuss about information strategy e.g. in practitioner magazines and conferences, the question arises how practitioners understand information strategy. In exploratory interviews, we confirmed a disconnection between research and practice and identified five types of information strategy concepts: Information strategy is understood as a binding guideline, a departmental plan, a change agenda, the market strategy of the IT department or as a set of business unit overarching IT issues. The value of analysing these concepts in practice lies in revealing reasons for the disconnection between research and reality as well as potentially providing a fresh impetus for information strategy research in order to eventually improve the discontenting state of research

So You Want To Go Digital? How To Avoid The Next Legacy Platform Debacle

IT platforms as the foundation of digitized processes and products are vital in a digital economy. However, many companies’ platforms are liabilities, not strategic assets because of their complexity. \ \ Consequently, companies initiate IT complexity reduction programs. But these technology-centric programs at best provide temporary relief. Soon after, companies’ platforms become just as complex as before. \ \ Based on four case studies, we identify three non-technical drivers of platform complexity: (1) Lacking awareness of consequences business decisions have on platform complexity, (2) Lacking motivation to avoid platform complexity, (3) Lacking authority to protect platforms from complexity. We propose measures to address these drivers that can help achieve more sustainable impact on platform complexity: (1) Removing information asymmetries between those creating complexity and those dealing with complexity, (2) Redefining incentives to include long-term effects on platform complexity, (3) Redressing power imbalances between those who create complexity and those who have to manage it

Strategic Information Planning – Insights from an Action Research Project in the Financial Services Industry

The core purpose of strategic information planning (SIP) lies in identifying future directions for investments in information technology, information systems and information supply that will assist an organisation to realise its business goals. SIP is a critical challenge and major concern to both academics and practitioners, in particular consultants. While the latter have proposed a number of formal methodologies and principles of good practice, these are normative recommendations that are hardly justified through theoretical insight. In fact, SIP is yet to be well understood theoretically and requires more empirical support. This motivated us to carry out an in depth case study on SIP in a financial service company. The study aimed at improving the SIP practices in place and was conducted in an action research-like manner. This research report at hand presents the results of the study. We firstly describe the enterprise, its situation and the SIP practices in place. We then reflect upon the SIP process, its contingencies and its outcome in light of the current academic literature. This leads us to a number of theoretically informed suggestions that concern the improvement of SIP as well as the direction of the resulting information strategy. These suggestions have already been debated with senior IT executives from the case enterprise. This debate helped to confirm some theoretical propositions from literature while other recommendations were not agreed upon by the practitioners. Our findings from the study are finally framed to give a fresh impetus to future research and perhaps challenge some current wisdom. <br

Business-Driven IT Transformation at Royal Philips: Shedding Light on (Un)Rewarded Complexity

In 2013, Royal Philips was two years into a daunting transformation. Following declining financial performance, CEO Frans van Houten aimed to turn the Dutch icon into a “high-performing company” by 2017. This case study examines the challenges of the business-driven IT transformation at Royal Philips, a diversified technology company. The case discusses three crucial issues. First, the case reflects on Philips’ aim at creating value from combining locally relevant products and services while also leveraging its global scale and scope. Rewarded and unrewarded business complexity is analyzed. Second, the case identifies the need to design and align multiple elements of an enterprise (organizational, cultural, technical) to balance local responsiveness with global scale. Third, the case explains the role of IT (as an asset instead of a liability) in Philips’ transformation and discusses the new IT landscape with its digital platforms, and the new practices to create effective business-IT partnerships

Building a Global Process Standard at the Most International Company on Earth: DHL Express

As “the most international company on earth,” DHL Express promised to deliver packages between almost any pair of countries within a defined time-frame. To fulfill this promise, the company had introduced a set of global business and technology standards. While standardization had many advantages (improving service for multinational customers, faster response to changes in import/export regulations, sharing of best practices, etc.), it created impediments to local innovation and responsiveness in DHL Express’ network of 220 countries/territories. Reconciling standardization-innovation tradeoffs is a critical management issue for global companies in the digital economy. This case study describes one large, successful company’s approach to the tradeoff of standardization versus innovation