Core service
Strategic IT assessment
An orderly, executive reading of the company’s technology situation: what exists, how it operates, what it costs, what risks are present and how well all of it aligns with business objectives.
When to engage it
The assessment is usually the first engagement when leadership needs a supported basis for deciding.
- Leadership has no consolidated view of the IT function and of what it sustains.
- A technology budget has to be defined or defended and the arguments are not organized.
- There is a suspicion that technology spending does not match the value it delivers.
- The head of the area has changed and an objective starting point is needed.
- Growth, a merger or a new operation is being prepared and it is unclear what the current platform can support.
- Risks have been identified only partially and their operational impact has never been sized.
What it covers
The evaluation is comprehensive and documented in language leadership can act on. The depth of each domain is set by the agreed scope.
Platform and operations
- Infrastructure and services that sustain operations
- Day-to-day running of the area and support processes
- Systems in use, functional coverage and duplication
- Continuity, backups and identified operational risks
Management and investment
- Management processes of the area and how formalized they are
- Current vendors, contracts, dependencies and performance
- Structure of technology investment and where it goes
- Alignment between what is spent and business objectives
Team and governance
- Structure of the area, roles and team capabilities
- Involvement and attention leadership gives the IT function
- Measurable indicators in use and the ones missing
- Stated future plans and how feasible they are
What you receive
Assessment
The documented situation of the domains included in the scope, supported by the information reviewed and the interviews held.
Findings
The points that require attention, expressed by their effect on operations, risk and cost — not as a list of technical observations.
Prioritized plan
Recommended actions ranked by impact, risk and effort, with the suggested sequence and what each one implies for the budget.
Presentation to leadership
The session to review conclusions and resolve questions with the people who make the decision.
Deliverables, their depth and the domains covered are defined in the scope agreed before starting. Not every engagement covers every domain listed.
How Bekta works with your team and your vendors
The assessment is built with the people who know the operation; it is not done from the outside or over the area’s head.
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Bekta
Conducts the interviews, reviews the information, cross-checks accounts and documents the evaluation and the plan.
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Internal IT team
Provides access to information, explains how the operation actually runs and validates the facts being documented.
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Vendors
Clarify contracted scope, dependencies and standing commitments where the scope calls for it.
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Executive leadership
Defines the business priorities the evaluation is measured against and decides what to do with the recommendations.
Bekta does not replace the IT function or take over its operation. The assessment is delivered so leadership can decide, and the area keeps running its own work.
What if what you need is to redesign the department?
The assessment evaluates the full technology situation and, within that scope, already considers the department’s structure, the team’s capabilities and the attention it receives from leadership. When what is needed is to go deeper into that plane — defining functions, roles, profiles and reporting lines, or building the department from scratch — that work belongs to a service with its own scope.
See IT department designFrequently asked questions
How long does an assessment take?
It depends on the size of the operation, the number of systems and vendors involved and the domains included. The timeframe is estimated and agreed when the scope is defined, before starting.
Does the operation or an ongoing project have to stop?
No. The assessment relies on interviews and existing information, and is scheduled to interfere with operations as little as possible.
Does Bekta then implement what it recommends?
No. Bekta does not perform technical execution. It can guide and coordinate the implementation as project management, while the work is carried out by internal teams and vendors.
Does the assessment include selecting a vendor?
Selection is handled as an engagement with its own scope. The assessment can identify the need and the criteria; the comparison process is agreed separately.
What if the IT team sees the assessment as an audit of their work?
That is a reasonable concern and it is addressed from the start. What is being evaluated is the company’s technology situation and the conditions the area operates under — including the attention it receives from leadership. The team takes part in building the assessment and validates the facts documented.
Does it apply to any sector?
Yes. The method is the same; what changes is the operating context and the business criteria used to weigh the findings.
Do you need a supported basis for deciding?
Describe your company’s context and the decision in front of you. From there we propose a meeting to frame the scope of the assessment.
A meeting is proposed after the first contact, once the context is understood.