A local council recently contacted Konvergent to help them solve a particular challenge related to their cloud strategy. Konvergent was singled out for its unique approach, which stood out from the traditional panels of vendors that local authorities typically rely on for such tasks.
The council’s predicament, was that their existing (Cloud Strategy) documentation and personnel was too technically focused, making it difficult for business stakeholders within the council to understand and engage with the Cloud Strategy. This was a serious obstacle that needed to be addressed quickly.
Konvergent was called upon to provide a business-friendly summary of the council’s cloud strategy and visually appealing deliverables that would resonate with the critical stakeholders, despite the tight deadline of just six weeks.
Konvergent successfully delivered a high-quality solution that exceeded the council’s expectations. Their engaging summary and compelling visual output made it easy for the council’s business stakeholders to understand the cloud strategy and embrace its potential benefits.
It quickly became evident that the current work from existing vendors on the council’s Cloud Strategy was not a strategy, but rather a highly technical implementation document, thanks to the authors of the original document being very technically minded. This presented a significant challenge, as the document needed more connection to the council plan and the broader technology strategy, making it a standalone document that was not demonstrating how it would benefit borough residents or help deliver on electoral promises.
This lack of alignment with the council’s broader objectives made it impossible to secure budgetary sign-off, despite the UK government’s mandate from a decade ago that all departments prioritise cloud adoption. Moreover, there were concerns regarding the inconclusive nature of the financial projections, which made it difficult for the Chief Information Officer to convince stakeholders of the proposal’s value using accurate data.
The resulting situation meant that the CIO was forced to engage with stakeholders using accurate or complete information, which risked harming their overall objectives.
The first step was to analyse the existing documentation, followed by a series of key stakeholder interviews to understand the cloud strategy’s benefits. Armed with this information, Konvergent then facilitated workshops with the main stakeholders to identify around 5 or 6 essential elements critical to the council plan and strategy, including IoT, Environmental Impact, Financial Sustainability, and Security that the cloud strategy supported. The information was always there – it was just a case of extracting and aligning it.
One of the unique advantages that Konvergent brought, was their experienced COO/CFO, who previously oversaw the IT department for a 5,000-person company. This enabled the team to provide an extra level of financial scrutiny to the proposed financials and be better prepared to answer challenging financial questions that had previously stalled progress.
Leveraging their visual communications expertise, Konvergent produced an interactive document that enabled the IT leaders to engage in productive conversations with business-facing stakeholders, breaking the deadlock that had previously hindered progress. The document was stripped of unnecessary technical jargon and acronyms, ensuring it was easily accessible to business stakeholders. At the same time, it was linked back to the existing cloud strategy for anyone who needed to interrogate the analysis.
Overall, Konvergent’s solution not only delivered on the council’s cloud strategy requirements but also set a new standard for effective communication and collaboration between IT and business stakeholders.
Konvergent’s innovative approach to the council’s cloud strategy has yielded impressive results, with all four key business stakeholders now positive about the strategy. Thanks to Konvergent’s focus on linking the cloud strategy to the bigger picture of the council’s objectives, business stakeholders could fully understand the potential benefits. This was further reinforced by the expert financial analysis provided by Konvergent, which has shown that the council can expect at least £2 million per year in annual savings.
The council always suspected that the cloud strategy could deliver significant cost savings, but they could not prove it due to opaque accounting practices that required expert intervention. Konvergent’s solution demonstrated the potential savings and identified the cloud strategy’s key components that could be linked to the council’s objectives, leading to a more holistic and integrated approach.
The success of Konvergent’s work has led to two related projects already underway. This is a testament to Konvergent’s approach’s effectiveness and the value they bring to its clients.
Council CIO
In strategy and architecture, an often-neglected aspect is the Return on Investment (ROI). As financial professionals demand concrete figures when considering investments, more than a mere mention of process improvement or technology optimisation may be required. In their eyes, such endeavours represent costs, making it challenging to secure the necessary funding. Considering this, it is crucial to demonstrate ROI, regardless of how impressive a project’s visual outputs may be.
“Value is a number, everything else is noise”
Konvergent,
The Hoxton, 70 Colombo St,
London,
SE1 8DP
T: +44 (0)20 3744 1256
E: info@konvergent.co.uk
