Digital initiatives that are taken up by most enterprises, are triggered by inefficiencies in specific point solutions, rather than a bigger picture of actual business needs. Only after significant time, effort and spend goes into these initiatives, enterprises realize that there is minimal re-use, adoption of best practices, or proper spend visibility in these initiatives. This is due to independent projects done across departments in the enterprise, without getting them involved in the digital endeavor. From external inputs perspective, technology partners suggest, terms like Center of Excellence (CoE), Concept Center, Technology Center, Innovation Group, Governance Council, etc. along with success stories from platform, business, middle ware or some other perspective, based on the partners’ line of business.
Apart from Technical transformation initiatives to satisfy various requirements, targeted business transformation initiatives also leads to formation of groups like CoE. Since programs for technology transformation/streamlining are headed by IT, one question or area of concern, that haunts the anchors of these programs, is the selection of right governance model for the operation of mobility focus group.
The governance models for focus team can be roughly grouped under four models:
- Decentralized – As the term signifies, independent initiatives across departments in the enterprise with minimal interaction is the approach followed in this model. The meetings, communications and representation to create focus would lack the cadence to bring an enterprise-wide view.
- IT Extension – Here IT group is in the center stage. It is the IT team that creates a focus group and they manage the execution of all digital initiatives.
- Org Extension – In this model, focus group has org wide participation. It has representation and participation from all key identified departments.
- Centralized – The approach in this model, as the term signifies is to have a separate business unit with defined goals to work on digital initiatives.
The right model the enterprise has to adopt, depends on the key business needs and concerns the digital focus group is expected to solve.
