It's simple to make IT complex but complex to simplify IT

Over the course of the last decades many companies have implemented ERP systems. Before the nineties IT systems had an actual lifecycle, companies changed systems every 5-10 years. Meanwhile companies stick to the system in place, costs and corresponding risks have become so high that changing systems is not an option anymore.

This trend has led tot ERP environments that have grown bigger, more expensive and extremely complex over the last years. The consequences of this trend are enormous: 

  • A big gap between business and IT. Not intentionally, but as a result of complexity IT is not able to respond as quickly as requested on business needs, market developments and trends.
  • Maintaining the systems has become more expensive, due to the increased complexity. On average, 80% of the available IT Budget is spent on 'keeping the lights on', which laves only 20% budget for changes and innovations .
  • For those changes and innovations that can be afforded, the time to market is much too long. Development and test cycles have become so rigid that the throughput time has risen to unacceptable levels.
  • Finally the world around is is not standing still. At an even increasing pace new developments and technologies are released. In order to fully benefit from those developments we need to be able to adopt these quickly into our systems and processes. Having a highly customized landscape limits our ability to embed these badly wanted new technologies. Things like in memory processing, IT as a Service and many more cannot be used unless we drastically simplify our landscapes and bring them back to standard.

Summarizing: It needs to become an enabler rather than slowing things down.

Having identified this major challenge for our clients McCoy has developed a Simplify approach, which is our core mission. In order to get to a new and simplified environment we have two possibilities:

1. Simplify the current systems and bring it back to standard as much as possible. This approach is called the 'Brownfield' approach and is in most client cases the preferred Simplify method. This from a Risk, throughput time and cost perspective. McCoy will always try to use the Brownfield approach. 

2. The other option is the 'Greenfield' approach, where a completely new system is put next to the current one. In most cases the reason to go Greenfield is a landscape that can only be simplified at huge cost and throughput time. The upside is a cleaner system for the future...

The above shows that Simplify is more then a trend. It is a must to be able to adopt new technologies and ways of working. McCoy's consultants are specialized in our Simplify approach which we are more then happy to demonstrate. 

Simply McCoy.