Secondly, the monopoly supplier would be replaced by a varied list of mixed sourcing. Outsourcing in this way would guarantee the best prices for the highest quality and efficiency of technology. Thirdly, narrow business standards in IT would need to change to wider industry standards. Other transformations include decentralized bias to the more efficient centralized topsight, replacing systems analysts with business consultants - systems are already in place; the next step is to learn how they need to be used to optimize business. The final two include the change of IT personnel from craftsmen to project managers, and finally to create a lean team of IT specialists rather than the large functioning department that has been involved with IT to date.
These above strategies are all aimed at the desperately needed focus within BP's IT department. While several challenges lay in implementing the seven transformation strategies, BP succeeded in improving both their profit margin and an efficiency that would ensure the maintenance of this profit margin.
In short, value was created by focusing on transformation in BP's processes, personnel and skills basis. There are five specific essential elements that the company implemented to ensure the success of their IT transformation. Firstly, the process in the IT was not seen in isolation from the rest of the company. It was part of an overall company...
An integrated effort was therefore made to encourage the transformation process.
Secondly, the above-mentioned goals of the company were set before the beginning of the process itself. As such, the target of reducing costs by 40% set a demanding goal that set in motion the need for a new, global architecture that would simplify the IT process and hence reduce its concomitant costs.
Thirdly, the transformation process was externalized. This means that not only internal personnel at BP were aware of the transformation and its demands, but external suppliers were also expected to contribute.
Fourth, a spirit of "breaking the mould" was created, by which all existing and traditional ideas were questioned and assessed for their applicability to BP's current business demands. If they were not, strategies were devised to change them. Only by means of applicable change could a business hope to not only survive but also to profit, as BP has shown.
Finally, strong internal relationships need to exist between managers and personnel. As part of their strategy, BP has begun to focus on their personnel, their expertise and their training needs. In order to create the most efficient of systems, it is necessary for personnel to be trained in the latest and best of technological application. Through these strategies, true value and profit could be created.
