Resolution8 was established in 2012 by Peter and Rochelle Gilbert when they noticed a need for IT project management in the Waikato region.
They noticed often clients were relying on software providers to manage the software projects for them. Without the relevant IT experience, knowledge, and contract understanding, businesses are left feeling bamboozled by the software provider – more often this was to do with a lack of understanding alongside communication challenges between each party. Understanding of the business and the technology together was necessary for great results, but this needed to come along with good translation between all parties involved. Research into IT projects uncovered that many businesses who were working on IT projects at scale lacked good project practices to address vendor management, stakeholder management, risk and issue management, governance, and oversight. Worst still, there were times projects were being undertaken without a clear understanding of the benefits the client required to gain from the technology they were implementing, this led to project dissatisfaction with the outcomes they were getting. They wanted to ensure their clients were getting the outcomes they wanted when implementing IT projects within their business. So as their business grew, they made sure they were providing best practices to the situation, leveraging their years of IT project experience to make sure they were getting the best outcomes from projects and vendors. As more projects took place, and great outcomes, came more service opportunities. As they continued to deliver project management services it became clear that our clients would sometimes need help in other areas such as business analysis, solution design, and implementation. Working with a trusted band of contractors, they slowly built an excellent reputation in the Waikato and health markets. That later led to projects spanning further sectors and varying project types. During this time, they recognised that several of their clients were making technology decisions based entirely on the advice of those providing those technologies. When they contrasted smaller to medium-sized clients against our enterprise clients, they saw the enterprise clients had one unique advantage – a chief information officer – a strategic thinker that understood their business and technology and could orchestrate vendors, systems, and processes to realise the vision of the business they were part of. This led to the creation of Independent IT consulting in partnership with Phil Burton, who had seen the same thing with his own clients. This business would provide strategic advice and direction to clients who needed an independent partner in their business. Fast forward 8 years and it was time to grow Resolution8. With the addition of key staff, capabilities and capacity increased. This saw further organic growth across sectors. The outcomes that were achieved by the team, saw growth in reputation and trust in the market. 2020 to 2023 has been the biggest period of growth for Resolution8, including a merger. Independent IT consulting was merged into Resolution8 resulting in four core areas of offerings and a significant increase in staff (11 staff and 5 contractors). Our team at Resolution8 has been employed and contracted specifically for their expertise, skills, knowledge, and foundations to support all sectors, with any project at hand. We are proud to continue to provide highly experienced, independent support, and independent advice, where our team's soft skills are all enhanced with consistent and matured processes – ensuring your projects are well looked after with solutions and operational support.
0 Comments
In a connected world, multiple tools and tactics can be deployed to lower the risk of cyber-aggression disrupting business. There remains a residual risk that an attack, infiltration or unintended process failure can lead to loss of systems or data, privacy breaches and theft of IP, resulting in damage or even business failure. ![]() Implementation of an Enterprise Risk and Assurance Management (ERAM) framework is recommended for all organisations. If used it is a wide and deep capability to reduce the likelihood and impact of cyber-aggression or process failure. In many cases the framework identifies an appetite for risk taking, in contrast to traditional risk avoidance. If utilised well a structured, phased approach can help to manage risk and protect value:
![]() Implementation of a comprehensive ERAM framework presents several challenges:
![]() Why Enterprise – why not just Risk Management? Enterprise risk and assurance management comprises:
How does it work? Implementing Enterprise Risk and Assurance Management is a five step programme and, unlike other enterprise-wide initiatives, business units can be at differing stages of achievement of the plan. The Resolution8 model distinguishes phases which are flexible enough to take into account the varying stages of evolution of ERAM across the business. The five standard steps of a continuously improving Enterprise Risk and Assurance Management programme are:
If you would like to know more, or even have a current concern which needs support, get in touch: [email protected] ![]() Artificial Intelligence is an evolving toolset that is becoming prevalent across the IT sector. But is it right for your organisation, should you adopt it and how can you do so safely? AI invokes the idea of fully automated decision making, freeing up time for people to do the tasks that computers cannot. However, AI should be viewed as a continuum of tools, on a scale that allows more, or less autonomy depending on the task you give it. For example, predictive text has been around since 1995 and only gets better with every release. It allows us to type with abandon to have our spelling corrected, or to prompt us for the word it expects us to write. However, all the decision-making rests in the hands, or fingers, of the user. Another familiar example would be the use of facial recognition. Many phones enable this feature; you no longer have to hold your face to a specific distance, angle, without glasses, in good light to be recognised. Instead, you glance at the camera and the phone recognises the user. This is a good example of using autonomous biometric analysis to “decide” if the similarities between photos is good enough to provide a positive match. At the other end of the scale, you have an AI who is making decisions that can impact many people’s lives – the common example being self-driving cars. It builds on semi-automated driving projects by the US DARPA 1984, and technology embedded in highways in 1991; to successfully apply AI to the problem in 2017 when Waymo trialed the first fully automated car. Image source: MoD, Defence Artificial Intelligence Strategy (June 2022), p 4: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1082416/Defence_Artificial_Intelligence_Strategy.pdf ![]() How can I use AI in my organisation? When it comes to using AI within your organisation you need to approach it as you would any new tool: What is the problem to solve? What am I trying to improve? What value does it provide? How will I mitigate risks? Where you have initiated a change within your organisation for some improvement or problem solving, solid business analysis of your current state regards people, processes and technology will give huge gains in planning to implement AI. Once you know what you need, the tool selection is where you will need to work closely with your Leadership Team and Board to ensure they understand the risks, benefits, and potential of your new AI tool. As it is part of a new suite of tools it comes with a lot of bias generated from personal experience and news items. Walking your leaders through the implications of AI will allow them to partner and champion your new application. ![]() The National Cyber Security Centre (part of GCSB) released guidance in January 2024 that helps to lay out the best way to approach embedding AI in your organisation. It’s been drafted in collaboration with 10 other country’s security centres to provide a secure way to embrace AI into your IT environment. The general premise is to approach it as you would any cyber security threat:
Many new frameworks are being developed to aid the use of AI throughout a normal development cycle. You can review and adopt the one that best suits your risk profile and flexibility requirements. Weaving these frameworks into your quality checks and overall governance posture will mean you can make informed decisions to get great outcomes with acceptable risks to your organisation. ![]() Can we partner with you for technology advice? If you are thinking of implementing a new AI tool in your organisation, as an application or as part of a process, take time to stop, plan, consider and seek out advice if you have a knowledge gap. Resolution8 can help with
-Louise Mercer [email protected] With the 2022/2023 financial year cleaned up, the year ahead looks interesting. Sneaking up on six years of Resolution8 Digital Advisory yet the business technology landscape is changing at probably a faster pace than ever before.
We are seeing interesting challenges across infrastructure/Cloud, security and AI and clients not necessarily sure of what they should be paying attention to in the information technology tent (sorry, just so sick of hearing about this “space” and going forward and any number of other cliches). Our banner of Independent is of value from a technology and business sense, even if only as a sounding board to ensure technology strategic and operations decisions are in the business’s best interests. It must be difficult to provide IT advice when you have any sort of alignment or partnership with vendors. Fortunately, at Resolution8 Digital Advisory , that is not a problem we face – our only concern is the best interest of our client – that’s it! So, if, as you peek ahead into the coming financial year, if you have any technology issues that would benefit from an Independent assessment – from Strategy to Operations, Contact any of us for a free first consultation. You have nothing to lose and plenty to gain. Useful links:
Software as a Service is a modern offering to people who want to outsource the day to day running of a piece of software. The most common one you will come across is Microsoft O365 – if you use the web portal you don’t have to do anything, you simply log in and start to use it. If you choose to have the application on your computer it’s a little different, the software will need occasional updates that will automatically get pushed to your machine and you will need to maintain the antivirus to your machine. But what about the other software you use to maintain your business? Most programmes send and receive information between multiple systems and any updates to these systems can have unexpected results. Updates are important and you can review what it will provide before agreeing to install it, most minor updates resolve glitches in the programme or patch security faults that have been found and resolved; major updates provide new functionality and often a new look and feel. However, any bespoke, meaning custom made, software will not only need to maintain any updates but it will also need testing to make sure that the information being sent and received has not been interrupted. Testing is an important part of any complex IT environment, it can be as simple as opening the programme on a daily basis and completing a simple action – a good example of this is checking your website is up and running every morning. But rigorous testing is essential especially if you have bespoke software or run a complex system across multiple pieces of software. This is where you need a plan. A testing plan can be run by anyone within your IT team and should include a mixture of automated and manual tests. The best testing plans will also align with business needs and prioritise systems that achieve best performance for your essential business processes. This is where Resolution8 Digital Advisory can help.
We can work with you to review your current IT environment and understand how the programmes interact with each other, we can then review or create a business centric IT strategy and plan that can be reflected within your testing plan. Don’t let your IT environment become only “good enough”, keep it aligned to business needs with high performance outcomes - give us a call today. In today’s world of highly specialised technology, it is common for organisations of all sizes to outsource some or all of their IT function. But how do you get best performance from a new or aging contract? Working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) or other IT Service begins with a contract between both parties. At the point of creation this contract should be a win for both sides – the service provider is charging a fair amount of money for a service the customer needs to do business. Ongoing contracts were originally created with a commitment from both sides to provide a service for a fee; if you have moved into a role where you now manage this service you should make yourself familiar with its contents. An aspect of contract signing often overlooked is how you will work through any disagreements, any perceived or actual failings in service, and how will you the customer know you are continuing to receive the service you pay for? Escalation points may be described but you should consider your personal approach to how you want to get best outcomes from the service contract. Developing a strong communication approach between you both is the first step, agree up front how often you will meet and what that agenda is about. It is natural to develop a personal relationship if you meet the same person regularly, but don’t let updates about children’s football or the latest hike distract you from following through on any issues you have no matter how small. Your agenda should include:
If you find you are still not happy with your service review your contract and be sure you are expecting a fair outcome; we can have personal expectations that may not be explicit in the contract. If you are not receiving what they have contractually agreed to provide then escalate; everyone has a boss and part of their role is to resolve issues like this. It is likely they would rather you escalate than they lose you as a customer when renewal time comes around so escalating is doing the fair thing by everyone. If you are still unable to resolve you issues you may need to bring in support from others in your organisation; you may also wish to check when the contract expires and get prepared to go to market to review your options. Overall, the key point is to remember you are paying for a service they have offered to provide; keep pushing for problems to be resolved and keep talking to each other. If you would like any help with any aspect of contract review, management or market options please get in touch with us at Resolution8 Digital Advisory. We don’t partner with any service providers so we can give you the best result for your organisation. Our team are very experienced in contract management and can take on the whole process or coach you through it to build you professional skills. Is Information Technology an asset or liability for your business?
It could be either. You could be exposed to an IT risk that strangles your business or it could be that competitive advantage that secures your business future. But how would you know unless Information Technology IS your business. It is highly likely that in most other aspects of your business that aren’t your core functions, you seek expert advice on this. So, why wouldn’t you seek expert assessment and advice on this critical business capability? Let’s start by helping you to ask yourself some questions about your business and its relationship with IT:
Assuming for a minute, that answering some of these questions raises some red flags for you, the next obvious question, is where do you get advice? Clearly, we think it is here, at Resolution8 Digital Advisory and one of the core reasons for that is that we can offer independent, vendor agnostic advice. For those businesses that already employ the services of a Managed Services Provider for Information Technology, you already have technology expertise on hand but, do you know how their services and pricing compare to the market and (this is important), would it be wise to seek advice from somebody that is not independent and agnostic? That would be like asking your friendly Toyota dealer what you should spend your vehicle budget on… no prizes for guessing that will result in an increased spend with your Toyota Dealer. An initial consultation with Resolution8 Digital Advisory will cost you nothing, so what do you have to lose? IT, liability or Asset? Contact us to find out. Online subscription software is easy to get going and it seems to cut out the upfront cost and opex's your costs - but what are we trading for this convenience? What risks are we adopting?
The olden days Back in the dark ages of computing (1990s to earlier 2000s), choosing what software to use was an even bigger decision than it can be these days. Firstly, there was choosing the solution for your problem, a lot of reading and promises from vendors, reviews from users and the press were crucial. Gartner’s quadrants helped. Sometimes you would run a formal selection process with vendors. Maybe there was a demo disc you could trial the software with. Once you had selected the solution there was the upfront costs (often a hefty figure):
Then there was the ongoing cost of the software subscription, regular upgrades and patches that need to be put on servers and PCs. All with their own invoice cost, let alone the cost of having your IT teams or office staff stop work to do patching or learn new features. Depending on the subscription model, you may end up paying again for the latest version of the software! Nowadays These days getting started with a new piece of software is often as easy as entering an email address and sometimes a credit card number. You’re away, no installation, it works on all your computers via the web browser, no one is installing server software, upgrading computers or having to manage the software versions. All of it is taken care of! All costs with the software can be made opex so you don't need a business case and you only pay for what you use. Google and many other online providers pioneered this approach of subscription software delivery, Microsoft has done the same and continues to invest heavily in this direction, going as far as subscription for a gaming approach with Game Pass (essentially creating the Netflix of games). So, with all these advantages what on earth could the draw backs be? And why should I be worried? Here are our top five risks when using online software (or software as a service): Risk #1 - Data governance and privacy The risk: When you enter data into a website it is saved somewhere real, on a computer that is physically in a building/structure, in a country. The laws of that country now govern that data, along with any rules and agreements in place with the organisation providing the computer that the data is being saved on. It is pretty rare for a software provider to clearly outline where the data you enter is saved. In New Zealand we have privacy rules and codes of conduct about the data collected and where it can be stored, what's more consideration of Maori data governance interests might be relevant. These rules have implications for collection, storage, use and access so you will need to consider both how the software treats the data collected but also how you use it. What you can do about it? Start with what data you are storing, there may not be any expectations for the product descriptions and costs information you store on your e-commerce solution, however there might be about customer information you do collect. Check the website for any direction on where they are storing information, what security they put around it and the reliability of the security checks they have on their system. If they do not publish information regarding this, try contacting them to find out. If you don't get a timely response, or no response at all, think twice if your information is sensitive in nature. Risk #2 - Confusion - too many applications for the one type of work The risk: There are usually many, many, many software solutions to solve the same problem. Just looking at the project tracking space you have solutions like : To name a drop in the bucket! All of them are good in some way or another and offer advantages the other may not, such as feature, cost, etc We met with a client recently who used three pieces of project/task tracking software across their clients and internally and were about to add another one. None of the software talked to the other, one set of clients used one tool and another set of clients used another tool. They know they need to consolidate but in order to do so they would have to retrain one set or all of their clients in the new solution. Furthermore, all the information stored in one application would have to be moved across (more on that below). In larger organisations this can be a real problem where different groups or departments grab the software they like the best and get going. They aren't constrained by the capital expense rules that meant the decision would require greater scrutiny before being signed off. This has its pluses and minuses. What you can do about it? Keep a central software register and put someone in charge of overseeing such decisions. Do your best to configure this so that they aren't holding up decision making but are creating awareness around solutions already in use. Encourage requirements gathering and checking before signing up - perhaps there is already a solution being used that would suit their needs, perhaps the cost and benefits don't stack up. Risk #3 - Integration The risk: You've got your e-commerce solution to sell your wares and its slick and does a great job of helping customers to purchase your amazing products, however, the inventory solution isn't connected. We met with one company where one of their staff had to spend the first part of every morning manually updating quantities in the e-commerce solution with stock levels to avoid customer disappointment when they ordered. Stitching together different software products to create a coordinated solution for your business has always been a problem. This is where ERP products generally came from (like NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics), a single integrated solution to run the whole business, however as smaller niche solutions have exploded onto the scene that solve one part of a business problem the problem of integration has gotten bigger again. There are tools that can help with integration but you are looking at configuration, running costs and making sure something doesn't change between the two integrated systems that breaks it all. What you can do about it? Choose wisely. Ask yourself some questions when making your decisions:
Risk #4 - Lock-in The risk: You've picked a solution, it becomes crucial to your businesses operation. Everything is running fine, then something changes; the prices go up, the system starts misbehaving, there aren't new features being added to help you keep up with your competition, so you are now looking at other options to move to. But wait…all your historical and current information is kept in this system and there isn't a way to get it out or transfer it over. Or worse you look closer and the contractual agreement to use the system was that they own all data you entered into it or they expressly exclude any support for taking data out. Your stuck, it’s going to hurt to move to the new solution, not just getting the new solution to work right for your business, training your staff in the new solution but all that lost information and history, or labour time and cost to manually add this history into the new solution. A software solution limiting you like this seems unlikely? Unfortunately, this is the business model for many, big and small companies. We see it across all sorts of offerings. Creating software using the Microsoft toolset for example, means you have to stay on that or recreate everything on a competitor’s toolset. What you can do about it?
Risk #5 - Data access The risk: You have invested time and effort in curating quality data in your online system, now you want to leverage it, but how do you get suitable access to it with your cool reporting tool? Or worse, what if your data is being used by the vendor for their own data analysis! All too often the data you put in can be hard to extract. A few years ago, a health organisation invested in a shiny new software solution to be then provided as a software as service solution. Lots of great data being captured, cleaned and ready to us. However, limitations in the interface made it difficult to ask certain questions of the data. Luckily (or so we thought) the solution came with an export function. Problem solved! Not quite, the export only allowed 8000 records to be exported at a time, if you tried more it failed and produced nothing. In the end they needed to work with the vendor to create a new extract that would send each night, but they then needed to collate and prepare the data further - all adding cost and extra expertise they didn't have. In another situation we worked with a client that was looking to use an online solution to run their business, it functionally matched their needs, however tucked away in the contact was a clause that boiled down to "the vendor can use the data put into the system to create meta-analysis reports on the population entered and sell that report if they wish". What you can do about it?
Conclusion Online software is a fantastic evolution of computing and enables businesses to reduce overhead, costs and to pivot to meet or beat market expectations. However, whilst they often present as an operational cost the decision needs to be treated as an investment decision and everything that goes with that sort of decision:
Treat the decision that way, consider the risks we've outlined and you'll have the best chance of getting the value and benefit from your software selections. We had fun trying to demonstrate some of reasons why programme management is important in organisations running multiple projects. Check out our little animation! It's all too common for organisations and teams to have multiple projects on and staff still trying to still do their normal business as usual tasks. Getting a view of all those projects, who is involved and what is required of them helps businesses decide what projects are most important and can be done and when they can be done. It also helps with resource planning and staff retention!
Over the years we have seen many organisations try and put in programme management with little success, for different reasons; perhaps their leadership aren't that in to it, the process is way too much, it creates too much burden on the projects. The common outcome is everyone (from CEO down) start trying to get around the PMO. The way you introduce your programme management is as crucial as to what you do to manage those projects and programmes. The team at Resolution8 specialise in project and programme management, hit the Contact Us button to have a chat about starting your journey into programme management. |
AUTHORS.
Peter Gilbert is the Director of Resolution8 and has a passion for good project delivery. ARCHIVES.
May 2024
CATEGORIES. |