InBrief: IT Operations

What It Is: IT Operations provides “IT for IT”, the infrastructure to track, monitor, and manage operating performance across various dimensions, depending on the scale and complexity of the organization

Why It Matters: The more an IT organization scales in headcount and complexity, the more important it becomes to have a way to benchmark performance and enable operational excellence

Key Concepts

• IT Ops is a support organization meant to promote effectiveness, not create bureaucracy
• Ops should be centralized regardless of the IT operating model (functional, product-based, etc.)
• For large-scale organizations, a federated IT Ops model is preferable for overall org effectiveness

Key Dimensions

Transparency

• Without visibility, it is nearly impossible to promote excellence and operational improvement
• Focus should be on critical, minimum metrics that enable governance and benchmarking
• Metrics can span from a leadership IT scorecard to portfolio and delivery metrics

Governance, Compliance, and Risk Management

• IT Ops doesn’t need to provide PMO services, but it should ensure they exist and are effective
• Compliance capabilities can be everything from regulatory and SOX to cyber security and audit

Portfolio Management

• IT Ops may not provide the services, but should ensure that transparency and governance exist
• Capabilities can span demand generation and prioritization to monitoring and value realization

Workforce and Sourcing Strategy

• IT Ops should monitor internal/external performance, utilization, and workforce composition

Financial Management

• IT Ops should help benchmark value/cost across IT at a service level and identify improvements

Continuous Improvement

• IT Ops should identify and track operational excellence opportunities on an ongoing basis
• Part of ongoing improvement should be reviewing and ensuring efficacy of IT services overall

For Additional Information: On Health and Transparency, Making Governance Work, Creating Value Through Strategy, Optimizing the Value of IT, On Managing Customer Relationships

Excellence doesn’t happen by accident.  Courageous leadership is essential.

Put value creation first, be disciplined, but nimble.

Want to discuss more?  Please send me a message.  I’m happy to explore with you.

– CJG 12/15/2025