Solve your IT issues and Leverage Tech Leadership When & Where You Need it. ONLY When & Where You Need it.
Companies rely on modern Information Technology platforms to conduct business on a day-to-day basis, and an enormous industry exists to support the operation and improvement of these software and hardware solutions. Reliable success on this “Basic IT” is TABLE STAKES in today’s economy. If your IT isn’t at this level, your organization is at real risk in multiple ways. Most large and some midsize organizations hire experienced CIOs/CTOs to lead their IT departments to stability and beyond.
But hiring an experienced CIO isn’t always the right move. For smaller organizations and smaller IT departments, there is a real challenge in the traditional payroll model:
- An experienced CIO is very expensive; these are scarce resources and the demand is great
- Middle managers or “homegrown” IT managers are willing to work for less, but may have blind-spots which more than offset the savings
- Just as in the NFL, unless someone has been a CIO previously, they generally have a weakness on “the other side of the ball”:
- Systems, Data, e-Commerce & Analytics
- Infrastructure, Operations, & Security
- Just as in the NFL, leaders who have mastered both sides have results which clearly show the difference
This is where our C-Suite Advisory service comes in. Our expert consultants have this experience, and provide it to clients on a fractional retainer basis. And we even go one step further than CIOs/CTOs obsessed with Efficiency – we target Growth in your Revenue and Market-share.
Install a Safety Net on IT Risk and Focus Your Technology 0n Real Top-Line Growth – Starting at $1k per week
Leverage the expertise of a successful C-level IT Leader, selected for your organization for industry experience and skill-sets. They can review all of your plans, security protections, processes, budgets, and contracts.
- Are you running risks on stability or security of which you’re unaware?
- Have your systems and data already been comprised without your knowledge?
- Are you being taken advantage of by software and hardware companies with expert negotiators?
Once our consultant ensures your systems are stable, reliable, and efficient, we Innovate Beyond Efficiency. The technologies we often use to drive Revenue are proven and economical, and our experts will collaborate with your leadership and technology teams to bring the best of those options to your organization based on real ROI (surpassing alternative ROIC). We’ve achieved top-line growth with differentiated IT capabilities in many ways in different industries, and we can do it for you.
Pull Back the Curtain on Real Innovation for About the Cost of an Entry-level Technician
Experience MATTERS, but so do costs. Your organization can leverage the SAME level of expertise as your larger competitors, but in strategic spots rather than a full-time role on your payroll. These services are included in our offering:
- FREE INITIAL ASSESSMENT of your IT platform & group
- New Technology trends/capabilities research applicable to your business
- Competitor/SWOT analysis on Innovation & Digital Transformation
- Key question answered: What is needed in IT to catch up with (or surpass) your competitors?
- Identify Stabilization opportunities for unreliable or insecure systems
- Identify Cost Savings opportunities from automation & enhanced systems
- Identify Revenue opportunities from differentiated Tech capabilities
- Analysis & Roadmap: How can your company’s IT platform become a profit center?
- Vetting/consulting on all internal IT plans, budgets, negotiations, projects
- Vendor oversight on all key IT software, hardware, and service providers
- Coaching for a company’s top IT leader, esp. re: a business mindset for IT
End the Trade-offs of Cost vs. Experience and Impact. Let us Tailor a Service for Your Organization’s Needs and Opportunities
- Our consultant can collaborate regularly with a specific CXO (often CFO, COO, CMO, or CEO). This can be a 1:1 private advisory partnership, or…
- Our consultant can participate &/or submit assessments/reports for monthly/quarterly leadership meetings
- Our consultant can regularly touch base and mentor your company’s top IT leader to upgrade their focus on Revenue Growth
- …or any combination of the above
Get your FREE ASSESSMENT and see how we can help your organization
- There is no obligation. If you like, you can take our ideas directly to your Tech team/vendor for them to consider.
- But if you’d like to partner with an expert bringing this approach, signup for ANY/ALL THE SERVICES ABOVE for about the cost of an entry-level technician
Our Advisory Service starts at $1k per week. Interested to learn how much benefit that can buy you?
Below see some of our recent Thought Leadership on the topics of Innovation & IT Strategy…
Change is Faster than Ever, but Will Never Again Be This Slow
This succinct summary of the challenge of modern life is a quote from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, from his keynote at the Davos World Economic Forum in 2018. And although that organization tried to downplay the sentiment later that year, Trudeau's claim seems an accurate summary of our times. Change is hard for human beings; we are accustomed to a great deal of consistency from one day to another: in what is expected of us, in the tools we use to perform those duties, in how we're perceived by others and how we interact with others, in what constitutes the necessities of life, and in how we obtain those necessities. Most of us feel we can "handle" change, but when we say that we usually mean one change at a time, and with a pause after each change before we're forced to confront the next one. The challenge today [...]
Business Impact – the True North for Innovation
There is a lot of hype within the business sector around emerging technologies. Talk of finding new, creative ways to solve business challenges never fails to incite a buzz within organizations, for good reason. With the right compass heading, technology can sustain or change a company’s culture, and many new technologies are emerging that promise a significant impact on business over the next few years. At times the excitement is about the technology and not its business impact Innovation is important, and powerful, and impactful, but only if it creates real business results. Without the right compass heading, forward motion is NOT progress but only wasted effort and time. Likewise, innovation for its own sake (outside of a pure research context) is often just a drain on time and money. Instead of seeking the latest technology for its own sake, an assessment of need & opportunity is incredibly important. Innovative [...]
Virtual CIO Case Study · Paying By the Drink for the Right Wine
Buying wine by the bottle (or case) may be the most economic option to acquire it at scale, but if a bottle is beyond your means or needs, and you find the particular vintage you want, paying by the drink is the right option. And so it is with Virtual CIOs (aka Fractional CIOs/Remote CIOs/Part-time CIOs)... This quote is actually from one of our recent clients, a mid-size company who engaged our Virtual CIO service to provide IT leadership to several IT groups who had previously reported separately to the CEO. Why Our Case Studies are Anonymous Innovation Vista does not list our clients on our website or post a "logo page"; we do not issue press releases to announce client signings or project successes. This policy is an important extension of our care and protection of our clients' strategies, in order to avoid letting their competitors know anything [...]
Gold Nuggets of Data all over the Ground
Increasingly, how an organization views and uses their data determines their level of success, and therefore the value of the enterprise. Data can be as valuable as gold nuggets for companies, but too often it’s ignored--“left on the ground” rather than mined, gathered, and inventoried as a strategic asset. Gartner research indicates that by 2021, the vast majority of stock analysts will include “data” components in their corporate valuation models for how much structured information each company possesses and how strategically they use it. This fact will surprise few. And yet despite this being a well-known fact, Forrester estimates that between 2/3 and 3/4 of corporate data still goes unused in any capacity for analytics. Care Must be Taken to Protect Your Customers’ Privacy No doubt your organization has contractual obligations and has made promises (explicit or implied) to your customers to protect ALL data which, if released, could [...]
Nurturing a Culture of Innovation
“Companies must innovate or die”. “Record-setting innovation investments poised to disrupt many industries”. Headlines like these proliferate business journals and have become calls to action for boards of directors. On the other hand, we are in the midst of a pandemic which already broadsided the economy once, and threatens more impact from heightened consumer and business caution, forced lockdowns, and high costs of preventative measures until a vaccine solution is available at scale. We’re in an unprecedented time of change and challenge; it’s easy for business leaders today to feel stuck between a proverbial rock and hard place. And yet, in the midst of these strange days – and in some ways because of them – it is in fact possible for companies to innovate without decimating their P&L. Innovation isn’t a Task to Check off - it’s the Outgrowth of a Culture of Collaboration and Teamwork Innovation [...]
The New Digital Normal of Customer Expectations
Digital disruption began well before we were all forced to practice social distancing, but recently it has advanced into sections of society that were previously slow to adopt. As more and more business is conducted online, especially from the palm of their hand, customers are beginning to distinguish between companies who provide an easy experience vs. those who have limited or no digital capabilities. This is really just a continuation of the evolution of customer preferences, and the rewarding of those who align with (or even drive) that evolution. In the not so distant past, we witnessed what can happen to a brand that does not respond quickly to customer behaviors. Customer battles were everywhere: Blockbuster vs Netflix, and every box store vs Amazon. Now, in the tenuous aftermath of the nationwide COVID-19 economic shutdown, we are seeing other sectors being challenged to make digital the new normal, including service, [...]