Defining the Path to a Sustainable High-Performance IT Organization

ISG helps redefine a utility company’s target operating model in order to better focus on business priorities and operational effectiveness, saving $44 million.

Opportunity

Opportunity

This major utility’s IT organization had long been operating in a model that was inward-focused, over-sourced and over-reliant on a single managed service provider. It had limited internal subject matter expertise in key technologies and struggled with a lack of accountability and business orientation for technology solutions as well as little end-to-end operational transparency. Over reliance on a singular provider inhibited the obtainment of market competitive rates for existing and new project work.

The company engaged ISG to develop a new target operating model (TOM), outlining a desired future state with an unconstrained strategy. This TOM had to reflect a contemporary operating model based on industry best practices that supported the organization’s strategic business imperatives. 

Imagining IT Differently

Imagining IT Differently

By establishing a set of guiding principles and collaborating for the development of the operating model framework, ISG was able to tailor the service delivery model (SDM) options to meet the organization’s objectives. The new SDM helped the company achieve stronger business alignment, strengthened security and increased agility to meet market demands, all while driving operational savings.

ISG started with a TOM design and quickly identified areas to accelerate, simplify and transform with the help of our ISG Inform benchmarking tool. Our approach was to then develop the sourcing strategy to assist the company in evaluating, selecting and contracting with appropriate suppliers capable of providing the required technology and platforms.

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Future Made Possible

Leveraging market benchmarks to develop the business case for the target operating model, ISG identified $44 million in run-rate reductions, allowing the organization to reinvest $17 million into new capabilities and service improvements while taking the remaining $27 million as savings to its bottom line. The company also received the following improvements and investments:
  • Stronger alignment with business functions and a better user experience through a business domain-aligned delivery model;
  • Strengthened cybersecurity and enterprise architecture to better safeguard the organization’s assets; and
  • Investments in digital services to better enable the organization to take advantage of emerging technologies.