Problems of IT localization facing the departure of foreign players are not solved only by “re-assembling” the digital landscape. In a shipwreck, swimming out on land is not enough – then you need to learn to live and develop in a new environment. Thus, we move on to the second stage of localization.
This is just the beginning
Regarding IT localization, many companies are stuck today in the first level. How it goes: The global center presents local representative offices with a fait accompli: “from the start of the next month, we stop working in Russia, assets are sold to local shareholders, centralized support of businesses and offices ceases.”
From that moment on, the company, transferred into the hands of new owners, goes into survival mode. It is necessary to make sure that production lines worked, processes of interaction with partners were reflected in accounting systems, office life did not stop. This is the first, basic localization stage.
However, those who coped with the first stage of adaptation to new realities, should not relax. Rebuilding the IT landscape is just start point of changes.
Since at the stage of survival the principles are “all means are good” and “details are not priority”, then the structure of the new IT landscape, the compatibility of its elements, ensuring the scaling of business processes – do no get significant attention. And that’s fine. But only as a temporary assumption.
Further, the organization must develop. There is a need to accompany, manage and develop the platform created during the adaptation phase. But how?
What’s next?
The second stage of localization really begins here. The main role in its success belongs to the choice of the company and the profile of the new landscape of the IT operating model that are most suitable for its tasks.
It is necessary to structure clearly: where and how to receive resources (infrastructure, applications, staff), as well as management processes and operation of IT, then begin to implement them, taking into account the potential modifications to the current landscape, product features, pace of renewal and key areas of development for the company.
It is necessary to conduct a scenario analysis of the development of corporate IT on horizon up to 1 year (in modern conditions such horizon makes sense).
Let’s say we are talking about the production of consumer goods – brand changed, you just want to save everything as is. Deliveries, production, shipments – the usual volume and profile of tasks must be serviced habitually by IT resources.
It seems that the operating model will be simple, processes are understandable, and with the help of IT tools it will be possible to automate them to a certain extent. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true. And if the company also has plans to expand the business…
The IT landscape can live normally and develop successfully only within correctly built operational model. It should include all required processes and components (including change management), resources for scaling, new organizational structure, and roles. At the same time, it is necessary to understand how much it will all cost.
If, for the future, the business considers the scenarios of mergers and acquisitions, then IT governance is added to everything listed in the operational model – it means IT management of all enterprises of the holding.
Why all this?
Today you can often see such a picture: the company completed the first part of the localization. It deployed a new IT landscape, migrated and automated the main business processes, afterwards transferring all this to support.
However, smooth and calm work does not happen. Support all the time operates in the “fire extinguishing” mode. And it happens so because the new landscape does not have described processes, neither operating model, nor sufficient documentation. From here it is almost impossible to build SLA parameters, to calculate the response time to events and to allocate roles.
In this case, support for the company’s IT landscape may require constant involvement and extremely hard work of 5-6 engineers who are expensive, qualified and quite rare on the market in modern realities.
At the same time, with built-in operating models, documentation and processes their involvement in support tasks will be much less or they will be able to serve a much larger number of companies.
Now imagine a company with a revamped landscape that Is constantly searching new ways, conceiving development. Under these conditions, adding new tools and new functionality to IT will surely knock down the system that is already working very intensively. In the modern market, this will cause reputational and operational risks that may become incompatible with continuation of the company’s work.
Conclusion
In a shipwreck, it is not enough to swim to land – then you need to build a life in completely new conditions. A prepared person will succeed. It is important to make the second and third step after the first one. Only correct, relevant IT operating models will allow you not to lose the business you have saved with such difficulty, invested your funds, customers, reputation and more.
By Nikolay Ulrich, Head of Infrastructure Consulting and Information Security Practice at Axenix