Urbanization of the company's Information System

Podcast with Bénito Diz

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In this episode, Bénito Diz talks to us about the urbanization of IT to bring business on board. He explains how, when he arrives in a new company as CIO, he often needs to restructure IT teams to innovate and digitalize processes.

Anecdotes, methods, advice, Bénito Diz tells it all in this podcast.

Enjoy!

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Benito Diz is a Transition CIO and member of the Infortive Community. He has successfully transformed several complex Information Systems thanks to a rigorous methodology and innovative approaches. With over 30 years' experience in a variety of sectors, he has held key positions such as application development manager, project manager and CTO. He put this expertise to good use at Action Logement Service. His advice is invaluable for CIOs seeking to reorganize their IT teams and integrate projects into a global information system urbanization.

In this article, we explore how Benito Diz overcame three major challenges: restructuring an IT team, proposing coherent, innovative solutions, and strengthening the relationship between IT and the business.

"During the construction work, the show goes on", he reminds us forcefully, stressing the importance of maintaining continuity of service while making far-reaching changes.

Restructuring an IT team: deconstruct to better rebuild

On joining Action Logement Service, Benito Diz was faced with a major challenge: reorganizing the IT team to better meet the challenges of digital transformation. His approach was to restructure the IT department, taking into account the individual skills and needs of each member, while unifying existing infrastructures. He stresses the importance of rethinking the IT sector: 

"We need to redefine the CIO, the businesses and their correlation."

This process involves acculturating teams to new technologies, agile methods and project management, while maintaining existing infrastructures.

Benito made a strategic decision to move from a traditional MOA/MOE/AMOA organization to a team driven by Product Owners, emphasizing agility and proximity to the business. He insists on the importance of collaboration with the business:
"The path we propose, we have to define together."

Integrating IT projects into IS urbanization

The integration of IT projects into a global urbanization of the Information System is essential to guarantee long-term coherence. Benito encourages CIOs to work closely with the business, estimating potential gains before launching projects:

"Everyone needs to understand the added value in the short term."

Integrating IT projects into an urbanization process enables services to be pooled and existing resources optimized, thus avoiding duplication and facilitating strategic alignment with corporate objectives.

By structuring flows and workflows around business processes, Benito succeeded in multiplying the number of projects carried out, from 50 to 160, proving the effectiveness of this approach:

"We need to convince people that this process works in the short, medium and long term."

Long-term collaboration with the trades

To ensure effective continuity between IT and the business, Benito insists on the need to maintain a clear strategic vision, involving the business right from the start of projects. He illustrates this approach with an example:

"Do we really need a complete CRM, or just a 360° view of customers?"

This recurring question underlines the importance of defining the real needs of the business and avoiding the creation of new IT tools if the existing ones can meet these needs.

Business acculturation is a key lever in this collaboration. By training business teams in IT technologies and methodologies, the IT department ensures that everyone understands what is at stake and can actively participate in the transformation. A striking example is that of a "pizza team" where a business need was solved thanks to an internally available cloud module:

"Businesses need to understand how to leverage the solutions already in place."

In conclusion, by overhauling its IT Department, consolidating its relationship with the business and integrating projects into a global urbanization framework, Benito Diz was able to optimize IT processes while aligning business objectives with the company's strategy. This pragmatic approach enables us to meet short-term needs while building a solid foundation for the future.

"Even if the organization is efficient, nothing lasts forever," he concludes, reminding us of the importance of remaining agile and adapting solutions to future developments.