Where have all the tech costs gone??Demonstrating the value of your digital spend

Given the proliferation of technology in media this past year, from AI and Chat GPT to the Metaverse and Starlink, it would be hard to argue that we aren’t living in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

Utilities organisations face a range of operational challenges in this landscape from infrastructure management through to customer service— which increasingly is dependant? on their perception on your level of commitment to environmental and social sustainability. ?

Organisations delivering energy services have grappled with the added challenges of severe weather events across New Zealand threatening traditional infrastructure and delivery mechanisms.

Many were already working to modernise electrical grids, and move to smart grid technologies, however this shift is not without its own challenges as interoperability between digital systems and solutions as well as long term resilience also need to be considered.

These rapid adjustments require significant investment in digital technologies which also requires a rapid shift in the way the return on that investment is accounted for and communicated.

Kim Gordon, Managing Partner at Ara Digital explains the disconnect between what financial areas of the organisation understand versus their IT departments. “Product owners know every aspect of their PnL (profit and loss) from a cost perspective, except IT. It's a black box of cost that just gets allocated to them and they don't understand it.”

The Ara Digital team have developed services to support organisations in their journey to develop a digitally strong IT capability and provide a complete view of where your money is going. ?Their Financial Optimisation service provides transparency into IT costs, helps to optimise budgets, and works to ensure that you get the most value from your software licences and resources.??

For those that want to go further we have a proven Technology Business Management (TBM),? framework that streamlines your technology spend. With TBM you get a clear roadmap toward getting the most value from your tech investments.

?Digital transformation is not achieved by the technology alone.? Successful change also requires a skilled workforce capable of operating and maintaining advanced technologies combined with financial acumen. Ara Digital Partner Alistair Mascarenhas explains that it can be challenging for those working within IT to articulate the value of technology spend to the organisation.?

“It's not their core competency or capability, so they rely on the finance team just giving them some numbers and, as long as the books balance, great, go off and do it – but it's not sustainable as part of the organisation.”

Ara Digital’s Skills Optimisation and Talent Mobility service helps to address this exact problem. It works with your unique challenges to identify the required skills to deliver on your strategic goals. Their approach empowers your team members to grow and adapt continuously while increasing engagement, reducing churn and increasing talent mobility within your organisation.

The digitally strong organisation of the future will have aligned their digital strategy with clear workforce requirements, which will provide a shared understanding of what value is, which can in turn be justified to shareholders, ensuring every touchpoint of your business is confident in exactly what value is delivered by each piece of technology.

To find out more and book a chat with one of our consultants, head over to our website at www.aradigital.com ?