Connecting the Value of IT: A Disciplined Solution for Service Costing and Chargeback

Among their many responsibilities, the CFO and the CIO must make sure that:

• Technology spending is aligned with business strategy
• Business applications and end-user services are delivered efficiently and cost-effectively
• Coherent project portfolios that grow and transform the business are created and nurtured

Within this new economy, a key ongoing goal of the CIO is to make sure that IT is aligned with business strategy.

Generally, this IT-to-Business Strategy alignment is achieved in two ways:

1. Running the business: Providing a cost-effective level of internal services necessary for sustaining business activity.
2. Building the business: Managing and delivering portfolio development projects that are prioritized and aligned with all key business initiatives aiming to improve efficiency and aid in gaining competitive advantages.

The Nature of the Problem

One challenging pattern we see time and again is the ongoing disconnect between the CIO and the CFO.

Some might say this disconnect is an inevitable result of the fact that technology is moving so fast and we don’t always have the time to stop and assess its value. Understandably, it can be difficult for a CFO to get away from all the checks and balances just to get the financial books closed, let alone turn attention to the books that measure performance at greater depths, like line of business.

In general, as a function of the role, the CFO does not talk servers, desktop deployments, applications or other semantics of the technology business. Conversely, with many companies establishing Technology Shared Service Centers, pressure is placed on the CIO to operate the business of IT with the same financial disciplines the CFO requires of all lines of business. The CIO must connect the value of IT services and capabilities to internal business partners. To achieve this, IT Finance teams require performance management solutions that are IT-specific, yet are connected to Finance, to ensure efficient allocation of resources and effective delivery of internal services.

Part of the CFO’s role is to look at the technology projects and initiatives and think about how all of this technology is adding value. CIOs have to fill information voids, while also having to build their own financial models and performance management book of record using their own resources.

Two seemingly differing views of value can be hard to navigate and leverage. If two divergent approaches are not connected in a common view among the key stakeholders, then—more often than not—there is ongoing value-related confusion. Ultimately, the dissonance between the line of business owners can stall or even paralyze decision-making.

A Better Language Is Needed

For the good of your organization, it’s imperative that the CIO and the CFO speak the same shared language of value and that they connect in an effort to move forward in the most aligned and productive manner possible.

Speaking a shared language—one that offers a unified financial model view and is based on shared definition of value—is a key to finding a solution. The disciplines of ITFM (IT Financial Management) is about equipping both of these executive-level offices and their teams with a better language.

With an ITFM solution, you are able to:

• Reduce the time that IT Finance spends on managing the business processes, providing more time for value-added analytical activities
• Give IT Managers more detailed, timely, accurate data to better understand the cost & effectiveness of the services and projects they are delivering
• Provide Line-of-Business managers with cost transparency into IT allocations and chargebacks, allowing them to better align their consumption of services with their business goals

ITFM focuses on these finance business processes:

• IT Planning: Budgeting & forecasting of IT Operating and Capital Spend
• IT Costing: Linking supply side financial cost structures with demand side consumption for services and projects
• IT Chargebacks: Equitably charging lines of business for internal services and projects performed (or Showback)

IT Finance Organizations typically manage these processes through a series of multiple systems and offline spreadsheets. These processes are not ideal, as they create pain as far as inefficiencies and ineffectiveness in terms of results.

Our preferred solution for IT Service Costing—co-developed with Oracle—is based on PCMCS (Profitability and Cost Management Cloud Service). Oracle’s PCMCS is a cloud-based, packaged performance management application. It offers, in one package, a rules engine for cost allocations, embedded analytics and data management platform.

When developing the solution with PCMCS, the following were top priorities for our team:

• That it required no large initial investment
• That it was accessible to all
• That it was always updated/up-to-date
• That limited IT involvement was needed

The ITFM solution, a joint development effort with Oracle and based on valuable feedback and results from multiple Alithya customer implementations, offers all of the following in one package:

• Pre-Packaged Content for Cloud or On-Premise
• Pre-Built Data Model
• Pre-Built Costing Model & Reporting Content
• Pre-Built Interface Specifications

A key component of the PCMCS IT Costing & Chargeback Template is its approach to modeling IT Like a Service Business, which includes the following modules:

• Model Financials & Projects: This first step is focused on modeling financial projects, allowing you to combine multiple data sources, perform cost center allocations and, for those customers without an existing project costing system in place, to perform basic project costing and project allocation functions.
• Complete Costing of IT Operations: This second pillar of the solution provides a flexible framework that allows you to combine data from multiple sources, perform resource costing and perform service costing.
• IT as a Business Service Provider: This third leg of the solution service considers catalogue & bill rates, contribution cost trace, consumer showbacks and consumer chargebacks.

 We Have Options, You Have Options

Our Flexible Maturity Model allows customers to start where they feel most comfortable, and progress in a way that is focused on maximum flexibility for maximum effectiveness. No one size fits all, and we believe in starting right where you are.