The impact of ICT Augmentation

We know that every organisation is unique, each managing their own brand, culture and processes. So, it’s no surprise that each organisation has different challenges. Especially when it comes to the challenge of rapidly ramping up internal technical capability.

What we often see contributing to these challenges are things such as;

• long procurement processes,
• pre-existing issues with incumbents/ panels,
• time constraints, and
• limited availability of Internal skillsets/resources.

We have found that the greatest challenge for any organisation not just the time to onboard, but working with a supplier who understands their business objectives.

In my last blog, we discussed what ICT augmentation is, and how it can benefit your organisation.

In this blog, I’d like to talk you through some examples of how ICT Augmentation has positively impacted the customers my team and I have worked with.

Stepping in to rectify a customer’s bad experience

A customer found themselves in a situation where they had several items out of scope of the contract they had with their current IT supplier. The supplier had no interaction with their on-site staff and the relationship became very transactional, which meant the customer found little value was provided by the IT supplier. Contracts provided no flexibility – tied to an outcome they didn’t take into consideration the fast-paced, changing nature of IT projects. The customer began losing faith in IT suppliers, and the experience left them frustrated.

ICT Augmentation was the answer.

When the customer made the decision to seek another supplier, we were invited to respond to a highly competitive closed tender. We understood their business requirements and the goals they wanted to achieve. This meant that we were able to propose a high quality ICT Augmentation solution that would allow for the supply of up to 50 staff and an addition of value added services.

The customer faced heavy financial pressures and by transitioning part of our offering to a managed services setup, they maintained the same high level of service and reduced costs by up to 25%!

With our ICT Augmentation services, we filled the gaps in their services agreement and acted as an extension of the business, not just a third party. The tailored offering enabled the customer maintain the high quality delivery of the solution to meet changing demands in their industry.

Lengthy procurement processes delaying project results

One of our Australian-owned telecommunications customers discovered that resourcing and onboarding is not always easy. They learned their limited resource accessibility and long internal processes were making it harder to meet project demands.

The biggest challenges this department faced was the ever-changing requirements of projects. The technical capabilities required in a short timeframe made it increasingly difficult to bring resources onboard. My team and I were able to devise a solution to assist the internal project teams by bringing in a one off draw down Purchase Order. This gave the customer access to a variety of technical capabilities.

Our history with the customer ensured security and confidence in meeting their high standards. The customer was also able to tap into our IP if required. Our recommendations on their IT environment provided valuable insight to the business as a whole, allowing them to prepare for future project demand and associated programs of work. As a result, the customer was more agile and could meet the demand for changing needs with ease.

Final thought

Throughout my career, my team and I have placed hundreds of resources across customers of various industries, sizes and project scopes.

A key stand out for me is the importance of understanding a customers’ unique business objectives, internal processes and what they view as added value to their organisation. This is key to building a successful, customised ICT Augmentation solution to suit their requirements. Too often providers will focus on solely the technical skills rather than understanding the end goal of what the company is looking to achieve.

If I can leave you with once piece of advice it would be this; don’t limit your projects, don’t get tied down to your internal procurement processes, don’t be restricted by the suppliers you have in place, there is a customised solution for every environment and scenario.

For more information, or to see how ICT Augmentation can fit into your organisation, feel free to contact me on LinkedIn or via this contact form.