(updated 6 March 2013)
More and more of my customers are becoming very interested in transforming their IT organization to look more like a competitive IT service provider, and less like a traditional IT shop.
Over time, I've created a rather compelling set of reading materials on the topic that have been widely used by many. Unfortunately, they're spread over a two or three year period vs. neatly organized for logical consumption.
On this page, I did my best to organize the writing logically and by audience.
I hope you find this useful!
General Interest Materials
"IT Transformation -- Does Your IT Group Fit The Profile?" -- not everyone is ready for the journey, here's what I've learned to look for.
"The Three Transformations of ITaaS" -- the more you work with a topic, the simpler you can make it. This is about as simple as I think I can make it.
"What A Modern Factory Can Teach You About High Performance IT" -- good analogies and examples can be powerful tools. Here's my favorite.
"Ten Steps To IT Transformation" -- looking back, our EMC IT team can make it all look so easy, but it wasn't so easy at the time!
"The Big Picture" -- why does all this IT transformation stuff really matter? It's more than you might first think.
"Thriving In A Post ITaaS World" -- yes, there's a pot of gold at the end of the IT transformation rainbow. Here's what we found.
"Leading An IT Transformation" -- a synopsis of how Sanjay Mirchandani (EMC's CIO) led our IT organization through a major transformation.
"A Manifesto For IT Change Agents" -- being a change agent isn't easy -- at any level in the organization. Here's a bit of support for the role you've chosen.
"A Unique Opportunity For IT Leaders" -- at EMC World 2012, Sanjay gave an exceptional keynote around IT transformation progress to date at EMC, and the opportunities ahead. Compelling content for all.
"Learning To Compete" -- a discussion on how the key organizing principle for IT functions is changing rapidly.
"An Organizational Health Check For IT" -- a fun, semi-serious, rate-yourself survey that sparks serious discussions.
"Change Is In The Air: CIO Survey Poll Results" -- what IT leaders are thinking about when it comes to this topic.
"The Top Ten Pitfalls In ITaaS Transformation" -- learning from the challenges of others.
"Building Your IT Factory" -- borrowing a convenient analogy from the manufacturing industry.
"Why The Cloud Discussion Is So Polarizing" -- understanding why this particular topic brings out the passionate side of people.
"Learning To Escape The ROI Trap" -- classical ROI analysis can lead you down the wrong path, especially when it comes to IT transformation.
Organizational Transformation And Skills
"Organizing For Success" -- a detailed treatment of the transformational game plan from Jon Peirce (warning -- very long and thorough)
"Preparing People And Processes" -- an excellent treatise jointly authored by EMC's Howard Elias and Sanjay Mirchandani.
"Cloud And The Act Of Being Selfish" -- new technical and process skills that will be needed by most IT organizations.
"There Is No Automation Pill" -- sorry, there's more involved here than just Adding Automation to what you're doing today :)
Finance And Marketing
"Achieving Financial Transparency" -- a pointer to the longer white paper that we created internally when addressing this important topic.
"Why IT Groups Will Invest In Marketing" -- every service provider invests in marketing, IT organizations are finding the same need.
"Price Signals And Why They Matter" -- chargeback is nice, but misses the point -- IT consumers need price signals to make intelligent choices.
Examples Of Internal Services EMC IT Has Introduced
"The Big Launch Day for EMC IT's ITaaS" -- the official launch day for just one of our internal services.
"EMC's vLab: What Happens When You Point A Cloud At A Business Challenge" and a follow-up post here -- just one example of how removing IT friction and adding great gobs of agility can fundamentally reinvent a core business function.
"The Daunting Challenge Of Mobilizing Your Enterprise" -- how EMC IT is building on ITaaS to create entirely new mobile capabilities for multiple business functions.
"Analytically Enabling The Enterprise With BI As A Service" -- how EMC IT is helping us achieve big data analytics proficiency as an organization, built on ITaaS.
"From CIO To Chief Digital Officer" -- what lies ahead for IT leadership?
Specific EMC Offers For ITaaS Acceleration
"Good Help Is Here For Your IT Transformation" -- a good model for what a comprehensive portfolio of consulting services should look like for ITaaS.
"An Update From My Friends At VCE" -- Vblocks are very good at helping to accelerate an IT transformation.
Also Of Interest
EMC IT writes a blog -- many of the articles add perspective to the concepts and stories presented above.
Great content on related topics exists on EMC's community platforms, for example, this summary of some of the new educational offerings
And, of course, EMC.com's microsite has lots of useful content, and -- more specifically -- here.
Finally, if you're starting to make progress on your journey, why not give back and share with others?
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