By providing evergreen products across its ever-increasing portfolio, Microsoft 365 assists the CTO in ensuring the organisation always has access to the latest and greatest technology.
However, with this comes the need to understand what the updates do, and what the Microsoft 365 Roadmap has in store so that decision on resourcing, project plans, and budgets can be made ready to implement them.
The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is responsible for providing the technological requirements of an organisation, and a significant element of that within any business is cloud services. One of the main cloud services in use today, Microsoft 365, is used by over 2 million companies worldwide.
In order for a CTO to be effective in their role, it is crucial that they remain aware of potential changes to their environment, and the options to improve the products and services they provide. Some of the key areas to focus on as a CTO are listed below:
1 - Technological Advancements
The rapid pace of technological innovation means that new tools, platforms, and methodologies are constantly emerging
2 - Competitive Edge
Being aware of and adopting new technologies can provide a significant competitive advantage. Those that aren't aware will soon be outgrown by their competitors.
3 - Risk Management
Understanding potential technological disruptions allows a CTO to anticipate and mitigate risks, protecting the company and its profits.
4 - Innovation and Growth
A CTO who is aware of changes can drive innovation within the organisation, streamlining processes and engaging in continuous improvement.
5 - Strategic Planning
Awareness of technological trends enables a CTO to align the company's technology strategy with its overall business goals, ensuring investment is targeted in the appropriate areas.
6 - Talent Management
Staying current with technological trends helps a CTO to attract and retain top talent. Individuals are attracted to organisation which are considered to be at the leading edge and provide them with opportunities to learn and grow.
The Microsoft 365 Change Challenge and the CTO
By providing evergreen products across its ever-increasing portfolio, Microsoft 365 assists the CTO in ensuring the organisation always has access to the latest and greatest technology. However, with this comes the responsibility to understand what updates do, and what the Microsoft 365 Roadmap has in store so that decision on resourcing, project plans, and budgets can be made ready to implement these updates.
By staying aware of changes, particularly those associated with Microsoft 365, a CTO can ensure that the organisation remains resilient, competitive, and forward-thinking. However, given the evergreen nature of Microsoft 365 and the constant flow of updates across its ever increasing product suite, keeping on top of these changes is not a task that comes easy.
To demonstrate the scale and enormity of the task, we should look at the facts:
Our own data shows that between 1st January 2024 and 31st October 2024, there were 1854 items posted to the Microsoft 365 Message Center.
Of these, 1322 were further updated to reflect amendments to dates or areas affected.
In addition to this, during the same period there were 1034 Microsoft365 Roadmap items to review.
This blog has more information, where you can read about the M365 Change Challenge
As you can see, the job of the CTO to stay current and in a position to take advantage of emerging technology, remain resilient, and forward thinking is something akin to spinning plates.
So, what can be done to simplify this?
Well, experience tells us that a proactive and staged approach to Microsoft 365 change optimisation is key, but what does such a proactive process look like?
Below is one example of a proactive Microsoft 365 change optimisation process.
An Example of a Proactive M365 Change Optimisation Process
1 - Microsoft 365 Product Categorisation
The initial task of the Microsoft 365 change process would be to take the different workloads included within Microsoft 365 and assign responsibility for them to product owners. Depending on the size of the team, a product owner may be assigned responsibility for more than workload e.g. Teams, SharePoint and Exchange.
2 - Day-Day Practice
On a daily basis, service owners should review their tenant's Message Center for items relating to their workloads. A quick review will highlight if a particular change is relevant, and if not, closed. If an item is of relevance, then it should be highlighted and categorised as 'in review'.
3 - Weekly Service Category Time Block (20-30 mins)
Once a week, time should be set aside to review all items categorised as 'in review'. This session would typically involve members of the product owners team joining a call to discuss courses of action, and the scheduling/allocation of the work required. If at this stage the item requires input from a wide group or product owners or business units, then it should be labelled as 'for discussion'.
4 - Fortnightly Change Stand-Up Call
This stage sees the coming together of all Product Owners to discuss the items categorised as 'for discussion'. More often than not, these items will impact multiple product workloads and business units e.g., Teams and SharePoint, and can be discussed in a wider forum, where the impact of the change can be discussed in depth and the appropriate action agreed and planned.
By designing the above in a way that follows ITILv4 and ITOM methodologies, an organisation has a far better chance of achieving an optimised Change Management process.
Furthermore, the use of automation and collaboration technologies would aid the delivery of a fully pro-active Microsoft 365 optimisation process, as proposed by Microsoft in their Maturity Model for Microsoft 365 Change .
Benefits of an Optimised Microsoft 365 Change Process
As already stated, there are a number of benefits to implementing an optimised Microsoft 365 change process for the CTO, and not all of them are targeted at engineering or operations.
By implementing a proactive process, IT are able to use their prior knowledge of changes to Microsoft 365 products and services. Advance warnings of change can be presented to business users, either via distributing user comms about the change, highlighting why and when the change is coming, or if required, scheduling additional training. This approach prevents negative feedback and enhances the perception of IT from the perspective of those who consume their services.
A further benefit of a pro-active approach and the ability to stay in touch with emerging technologies is in the area of employee retention and attraction. Existing and new employees are often attracted to organisations which are considered to be at the leading edge and provide them with opportunities to learn and grow.
By retaining and attracting the best people, the business has a much better chance of staying ahead in the marketplace, increasing its competitive edge, and having a focused and productive workforce.
In conclusion, how a CTO deals with change management is a key indicator as to how well an organisation remains competitive and forward thinking. Investment in a pro-active approach should not be ignored, and in fact should be at the forefront of any budgeting exercise.
As an example, and to leave you with something to ponder, a recent post from a CTO of a global multinational organisation suggested that for every $ spent on technology, $5 should be spent on change management.
So, the question remains: What type of CTO would you want to be? Reactive and on the back foot, or proactive and in control?
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Nov 18, 2024 10:22:25 AM
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