Where does your company stand in terms of IT maturity?

Inspired by the Gartner Capability Maturity model, the Microsoft IT maturity model is a business tool designed to help companies evaluate their level of technological capability.

This model ranks companies according to their level of IT infrastructure optimisation: basic, standardised, rationalised or dynamic. On the 'basic' level, companies still use IT in an ad hoc, reactive fashion with it remaining a cost centre.

Gradually, as they climb the levels of the IT maturity scale, organisations gain more control over their IT structure and transform IT into an asset. It thus becomes a strategic enabler of the business rather than a cost centre.

Glenda Miles, Microsoft business manager, AXIA Business Solutions, an EOH company, says companies benefit from evaluating where they stand in terms of their IT maturity, as this helps them adjust to the right level for their company. She explains the thinking process behind using such a model:

Evaluating its IT maturity allows an organisation to acknowledge the effect IT has both on and in the organisation. It not only provides a picture of the current situation, but also helps an organisation to make a conscious decision about where it wants to be in the future.

The output from the model can also be used to provide a technical decision-maker with a means of mapping out a two to three year IT strategy regarding necessary inputs.

Having a clear picture of its technological capabilities allows a company to describe the business challenges it is facing, and the capabilities that technology would provide in terms of enabling the business to solve these challenges.

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IT maturity is not about being at the top level, but about being at the right level for the company. The right level of maturity will thus vary depending on numerous factors, including the company culture, industry and economic context, among others.

EOH's clients, for example, are very diverse in terms of their IT maturity. In some companies, their inherent view on technology will lead them to choose to be a level one or two organisation, with no intention or aspirations of becoming a level five organisation. Many smaller companies, for instance, often view IT as a necessary evil - evident in their low levels of IT maturity and IT spending.

EOH's experience has shown that large enterprises and, specifically, financial services organisations, are often further along the maturity curve. This is mostly a result of their age, as well as their industry's requirements in terms of auditing and financial reporting. Banks, in particular, also have a much higher occupational and financial risk profile if their systems fail and, as such, their core business is more dependent on mature IT systems and procedures.

Customers that have reached a 'dynamic' level of IT maturity are fully aware of the strategic value their infrastructure provides in helping them run their businesses efficiently and keeping them ahead of their competitors. They need to remain vigilant however: a company at level five can drop to lower levels if they lose focus.

Companies at the highest level of IT maturity have achieved complete integration between users and data, desktops and servers. Collaboration between users and departments is standard practice, and mobile users have practically 'onsite' levels of service and capabilities, regardless of their location.

Processes are also fully automated and often incorporated into the technology itself, allowing IT to be aligned and managed according to the needs of the business.

When reaching this level of IT optimisation, additional investments in technology yield specific, rapid and measurable benefits for the business. The use of self-provisioning software and quarantine-like systems for ensuring patch management and compliance with established security policies, allows the dynamic organisations to automate processes, thus improving reliability, lowering costs and increasing service levels.

Customers benefit from increasing the percentage of their infrastructure that is 'dynamic' by achieving better levels of service, competitive and comparative advantages, and having the ability to take on bigger business challenges. Service management is implemented for all critical services, with service level agreements and operational reviews established.

To get to a higher level of IT maturity, an organisation must first shift its mindset, so as to see IT as a strategic enabler of the business and key to its future growth and existence.

Organisations that are further along the curve are often characterised by a high level of leadership. An organisation might be visionary in its business practices or initiatives, but not necessarily have a similarly aligned IT strategy. Part of EOH's value proposition is to help clients along the curve to find and reach where they need to be.

It is also possible for a business to evolve negatively. This can happen through economic decline, pressure on its IT budget, unmanaged staff turnover, lack of succession planning, ageing hardware and software, mergers and acquisitions, lack of policies or change of the guard.

All organisations should continually strive to improve their level of IT maturity. With so many ways to enhance business and business processes, IT needs to be seen not as a cost centre, but rather as a key business partner - with the ways and means to grow your organisation from strength to strength.