Monday, January 25, 2010

Olin Wise - Front Row View of Enterprise Innovation

This post contains paraphrased highlights from a recent Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Consulting Society event featuring TSYS CTO Olin Wise.

What is innovation?

Most innovation is very incremental and not planned. It's not always about a grand scheme, but about getting better every day. There is a difference between incremental innovation and disruptive change. Innovation boils down to better, faster, cheaper.

Remember that innovation does not mean "invented here;" there have been huge blunders where organizations tried to build something themselves without the capability.

The smaller a group you are, the easier it is to innovate.

Always try to take a solutions approach to innovation.

Consider your team for the project

Try to pair people together based on their profile so that they will be successful. The five profiles of IT talent are:
  • The passive technologist (uses old school tools and not changing)
  • The patch master (can fix any issue fast, but not the overall problem)
  • The professional (uses whatever tools are available; is not committed to any)
  • The endless innovator (always seeking a better way and never gets finished)
  • The visionary (has the cool ideas that don't always translate back to the business)

What can go wrong
  • Poor or unclear business sponsorship
  • Loose requirements or delivery commitments
  • Poor problem identification
  • Insufficient project and team communication
  • Poor architecture/design

2010 IT outlook for financial services
  • Expect more of the same in 2010
  • Regulatory impacts
  • Limited budgets for clients
  • Slower domestic market vs. growing international market (bullish on international)
  • Focus on efficiency/costs vs. investment
  • Targeted opportunities for functional improvements that are limited in scope