Strategic IT improvement

Technology Strategy Consulting

Technology is the bedrock of almost every organisation and must be the enabler to future prosperity. The Analysts view:

“CIOs are increasingly involved in business strategy development, to leverage technology aligned to a Digital business era”.

Leader focus:

Establish further Digital credibility
Think different about information security
Move further into, or establish Machine Learning capability
Further carve out the time, resources, and energy for innovation

‘As-Is’ baselining, understanding of the Risk and Opportunity

Gap analysis, ‘planning to meet the future’ modelling and implementation

Shaping the organisations of tomorrow, drawing on huge depths of experience

Digital Transformation

EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION? Organisations are rapidly moving away from outdated understandings, recognising the disruption opportunity and realising the vast potential of a Digitally focused strategy and future.

At Acert we are helping to shape such future outcomes and operating models:

Digital Maturity review & Strategy development
Digital workplace and transformation programmes, planning and execution

Delivery of target innovations

Big Data

Block Chain

Internet of Things

Disrupters

Cyber Security

For many organisations Data & Cyber Security is currently the most challenging and concerning area of their IT landscape.

With threats coming from both external & internal sources it is imperative that organisations implement and manage appropriate technology and processes in order to secure their infrastructure and providing the agility and controls needed for the challenges we face today.

Come to Acert for:

Audit & compliance to GDPR UK Data Protection legislation, driving improvement & change
Infrastructure & web apps, testing, vulnerability scanning, remediation, advanced threat detection
Information security management policy design & creation, risk management, governance, compliance & operation to UK & international standards such as ISO 27001, help with Cyber Essentials and PLUS

MIS & Business Intelligence

Astute organisations understand that they have at their disposal a huge asset and massive business efficiency opportunity. Presenting vital, mission-critical information at the point of need and in real time is now available to everyone in key roles – at Acert we can help to achieve it.

Acert will help with:

Strategy Consulting & Digital Transformation
Design and delivery of solutions, assistance and support
Flexible resources able to focus on and deliver change
e.g. Power BI, Tableau, Visual Studio

Benchmarking

Benchmarking illuminates performance and provides comparative analysis – be it commercial, contractual or technical. As the engine-room power of business today, Technology Solutions must perform to the best of their capability and deliver cost–efficient service to the organisation.

Acert experts are able to:

Objectively review and measure capability and performance
Potentially determine a business case for contract or solution improvement
Develop the required roadmaps, plans and change, design, deliver and assist in their delivery

Governance & Audit

An IT Governance audit evaluates an IT organisation’s strategic and operational alignment with its enterprise’s business strategy, ensuring that IT is supporting the organization’s overall goals while measuring delivery performance and transparently reporting the results. (With credit to Harvard University)

Our role:

Review and where needed, enhance Governance principles, processes and assist with ingraining these into the organisation.
Auditing of Programmes, Projects, PMO’s, Finance and Processes.
Establish a robust and effective governance model for the future, return to ensure that focus is maintained

Flexible Resourcing

As a consultancy business, Acert typically deals in projects, outcomes and results. More and more now we are meeting the need for a blended approach where the requirement is for skills over a period – in some cases in a permanent role. This extends to advisory positions, such as vCIO and Non-Executive Director.

Acert Associates is a professional network of talented people, passionate about what we provide; Associates & Partners are meticulously vetted, known to us and fully inducted in to the Acert family.

The provision of Associate consultants, Interim leaders and Permanent role candidates
Professional effective resource solutions from a partner you can trust, covering all areas of business and types of role

A resourcing model that adapts to suit your operating model, now and in the future.

Virtual CIO

A service designed for those organisations that need the vision and focus that a CIO brings, delivered in an affordable way by part-time, long-term and/or ad hoc assignment.

The vCIO does not replace the IT Director or Manager, the roles complement each other and work well together.

An Acert vCIO can provide:

Strategy development and Strategic direction, flexibly and affordably
A focal point for compliance, security and governance
Focus on instilling a ‘High performing, fit-for- purpose, modern’ IT Organisational model that facilitates business growth

Related work

Market entry for a multi-year managed service

Nearing the expiry of a 5-year IT comprehensive managed services agreement, the POA wanted assistance with market entry and scoping of replacement services, as well as a chance to compare the incumbent provider with current market offerings.

Market entry support for a major IT managed services procurement

Analysis of the IT services and infrastructure landscape at the TUC as part of our strategy development had revealed the opportunity for a broad and holistic upgrade approach, involving consolidation of several service elements. Our recommendations for market entry were endorsed by the new vCIO and sanctioned by the TUC management team. The desired outcome would be a ‘one-stop shop’ covering WAN, secure hybrid hosting, Office 365 with Skype for Business and a managed backup/DR solution in a three to five-year agreement, with built-in benchmarking, renegotiation and termination options.

IT Strategy delivery projects for a national trade unions body

Following Acert’s strategic consultancy report for the TUC in Summer 2016, the senior executive team were keen to establish the IT steering group and appoint a part-time (virtual) Chief Information Officer, as well as to commission work on the IT risk register. Earlier analysis having revealed some onerous service agreements no longer fit for purpose, there was also an appetite to negotiate early savings where possible.

5-year IT Strategy for a national trade unions body

As with many corporate bodies, IT at the TUC facilitates all aspects of operational organisation including infrastructure, communications and learning support. Significant change bearing on the TUC infrastructure in 2015/16 included space consolidation and office remodelling programmes, reduced government funding for Unionlearn and its associated staff shrinkage.

Sales improvement in IT managed services

Our client is a £100m pa managed services business. While their responses to formal RFP documents were solid and demonstrably successful, they had identified that a proportion of their sales teams often struggled to structure and write ’freeform’ sales proposals.

Improving the speed to contract for CNS Group

CNS is a leading UK provider of Information Assurance and IT Security services and solutions. Its clients vary in size, from FTSE 100 and large public sector organisations to SMEs. Following significant period of growth in the size and scope of the services that it offered, CNS realised that its standard agreements needed a comprehensive overhaul.

Cloud automation solution for a leading IT managed services company

Our client needed specialist procurement help to acquire a cloud automation solution that would enable them to offer their own clients faster and more agile hosting solutions – with speed to revenue as a primary driver.

Interim commercial management for a major international outsourcing organisation

Our client was struggling to find sufficient resources to provide commercial support for an influx of new bids and recent successful sales. Based on previous successful engagements with this client, Acert was selected to provide an interim commercial manager to augment the existing commercial team. Our consultant was embedded into a series of bid teams (the majority of which were to prove successful) and was then retained to manage the contract drafting and negotiation of a £40m+ IT outsource engagement.

Driving telecom savings from market aggregation

A key business partner made us aware that a number of organisations in the hospitality sector were in the market for new telecoms provision. We knew that there was an opportunity for significant savings improvement through collaborative aggregation. We therefore approached each organisation with the savings proposition and established the core membership of an ad hoc procurement group.

Transforming CEVA’s Outsourcing Model

CEVA is one of the world’s leading logistics and supply-chain management companies and has over 40,000 employees spread across more than 160 countries. With a long history of outsourcing its IT Infrastructure and applications support services in a piecemeal fashion, CEVA wanted to transform all its arrangements into a single global managed services agreement. In addition, it sought to move away from all existing input-based charging models, replacing them with an outcome-based, solution oriented contract.

Steve’s skills and experience were invaluable to us in the market entry and negotiation phases of our recent managed service award here at the TUC. Going on to help hammer out the detailed contract with our partner his determined and relentless focus has enabled us to achieve a good agreement for all parties. Simon Parry, (Virtual) CIO, TUC

Can we help?

Steve Pye

+44 (0)7712 050604 stephen.pye@acertassociates.com

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