Summary
The IT Strategy of a bank is as good as its implementation and adoption. While it is important to define the way forward IT roadmap to be in alignment to the larger business strategy, it is even more pertinent to ensure this is institutionalized, and reflected in its day-to-day operations. And that is where an IT Balanced Scorecard, designed using the Balanced Scorecard framework helps.
The IT Balanced Scorecard helps articulate the strategy across the 4 perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard:
- Customer: How should customers (internal & external) perceive the services rendered, addressing their expectations and aligned to the overall IT vision?
- Financial: What is the value proposition of the IT function to the enterprise, from a financial perspective?
- Process: How should the processes be driven across planning, innovation, operational excellence, and how do we improve it?
- Learning and growth: How should the IT organization learn and improve? What technology and MIS framework would be required?
The strategic objectives that are defined for the IT enterprise also gets to be defined by specific measures, that are both practical and appropriate. These could be both lead measures which help in taking preemptive steps, or lag measures that help determining the impact. Just as how the objectives get to be measured, it would also be important to set Quality, Time and Cost (QTC) measures and key milestones for the IT initiatives that are aligned to those objectives, and progress. The Balanced Scorecard can also be effectively used to drive partnership & service agreements with suppliers, service providers and business functions.
Cedar is a thought leader both in the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and also in formulating and executing technology strategy. Cedar has completed over 400 Balanced Scorecard projects across industry sectors, and also has its Center of Excellence in Digital Core banking and Transaction Banking areas. Cedar’s programs have significantly improved the financial and operating performance of its clients. We make strategy and innovation work.
How we add value
- Driving strategic priorities: Articulating the IT strategy using scorecard helps in articulating the key priorities, and aligning the initiatives across the bank with that of the overall strategy. The IT priorities of any bank typically cuts across 5 broad themes:
- Driving strategic relevance of IT and enablement of superior customer experience
- Improving the return on IT spend, and enhancing its effectiveness
- Investing for the digital future –continued improvement for the next generation banking
- Aligning the IT applications & technology infrastructure in line with the overall vision
- Enhancing and developing the skills & potential of the IT organization.
- Performance Management using the Balanced Scorecard: The BSC has also been actively used globally to drive individual performance and build a performance-oriented culture. Cedar designs Individual Performances Measures (IPMs) for the key functions within the IT function, aligned with the performance measures defined for the business unit. This helps drive a performance driven culture within the IT organization, and also bring in clarity to progress by way of quantified measurement.
- Balanced Scorecard Automation using the Accelerator: Leveraging Cedar’s experience in developing scorecards across industries globally, Cypress, Cedar’s BI division has developed one of the world’s most innovative Balanced Scorecard (BSC) automation solutions – Accelerator. The Accelerator, designed by Balanced Scorecard thought leaders, allows for a rapid automation of a firm’s BSC to improve the quality of its reporting and the overall success of a BSC program to drive performance. It is IT “lite”, mobile, in-the-cloud and can be implemented within 4 weeks. The solution manages not only multiple enterprise scorecards but can also manage individual performance measures.
