Is IT Moving From a Cost Center to a Trust Center?
Many modern-day organizations are beginning to treat their IT departments as a ‘trust center’ rather than a ‘cost center’. What does that suggest for you and your organization? In this post, we’ll define cost centers and trust centers in the context of IT. But we don’t just stop there. We also provide 4 ways to build your organization’s IT trust center from the ground up.
Traditionally, organizations have viewed their IT departments as cost centers. A cost center is a division within a business that does not produce direct profits but incurs costs. Consequently, many companies have shied away from critical IT investments in an attempt to reduce costs and remain profitable. However, today’s modern technology systems are becoming increasingly valuable to other areas of business, like Digital and e-Commerce, for example.
“In the past, IT investments were often driven by cost savings. Today, the new IT trend is optimizing for the customer experience. Through technology and strategic planning – organizations can exceed customer expectations, one customer interaction at a time. After all, customers are more willing to pay more for the products and services they find to be of value. By building a relationship based on quality and credibility, you contribute to the company’s brand value as a whole.”
However, doing so is not easy. According to a 2019 Chief Information Officer (CIO) Survey Report by Grant Thornton, aligning an organization’s IT goals with the overall business goals is a considerable challenge many CIOs and CTOs face. Not to mention, CTOs deal with the added pressure of proving the value of IT spend to business partners, alleviating cyber security, managing and analyzing data, finding top operational strategies, and much more. With all those obstacles into play, it’s no wonder CTOs are urgently searching for new, measurable ways to deliver better service and execute successful strategies.
So, how can you begin to build your IT trust center against all of the barriers listed above? The answer is quite simple. Below, we share the top 4 ways to transform your IT department from a cost center to a trust center:
How to Build Your IT Trust Center
Customer Relationships: Create an ongoing dialogue with leaders that are involved in improving the customer experience.
Business Partnerships: Communicate the importance of being a strategic partner by providing cost-effective solutions that work and are easy to implement.
Business Leader Relationships: Reach out to other C-Suite members to understand their goals. Help them design, strategize, and prioritize engagements that improve customer experiences.
Technical Leader Relationships: Understand cyber security and share what you can do to protect your organization and your customers from any security risks and threats.
At last, the CTO that prioritizes the trust center approach towards IT is at a competitive advantage. By treating the IT department as such, your organization can better serve the critical relationships that make your business successful. In this approach, CTOs have the opportunity to become more heavily involved in the strategy and development of all interrelated businesses processes. Focusing on these brand interactions, especially those related to the customer experience, your organization can build a thriving IT trust center worthy of investing your time, money, and resources into.
If your organization needs assistance in building tech value while optimizing costs, Katalyst Software Services Limited can help. We support a variety of top brands across a range of industries scale their business forward by delivering innovative digital customer experiences. To get started, connect with our technical specialists today. We can’t wait to hear from you!
