Creating a Tech Strategy to Power Growth

The Challenge: Untapped Data Potential With Underserving Tech

After five decades in business supporting independent schools, our client earned a solid industry reputation as a go-to resource. They also had collected a depth of data from forms, surveys, and other tools. While they’d successfully been serving their clients through the years, they’d not optimized how they could transform their data into lasting business value for themselves and their clients. Further, they had begun losing market share with some of their existing technology and needed a plan to revamp their offerings and maintain their competitive edge. 

In addition, the company had a small IT team in place. So the tech strategy needed to create leverage for the team and be efficient to operate — while transforming the way they work and support clients. 

Strategy: Understand Business Vision and Prioritize Tech Needs

To create their tech strategy, we knew we had to gain an in-depth understanding of how they currently work versus what they aspire to achieve. We had sponsorship and buy-in for the process from the company’s complete C-Suite, which made for a proactive, productive engagement when aligning against business goals. 

First Priority – Deep Dive into Their Needs    

To get started, we first needed to quickly get up to speed and develop a deep understanding of their needs and capabilities. We engaged the key stakeholder in a thorough meeting to identify their business objectives and values. We further needed to uncover: 

• What they wanted to achieve through technology 
• What guardrails or guiding principles they needed to put in place 
• Which technology they could build in-house versus needed to buy 

Integrated Approach 

Also, a key factor in supporting the project was integrating data and software engineering resources to ensure fluid development across our efforts. This integration resulted in our client having: 

• One partner across their objectives streamlining the process  
• A high level of communication between all team members 

As a result, we were able to work seamlessly between our team, with our client, and across their data and technology goals. 

Second Priority – Create a Storyboard 

From here, we needed to lay out a storyboard of the information we must review and how to help our client tell their story. This insight led us to conduct a series of interviews and documentation reviews. 

Further, with their growth goals, acquisitions were part of our client’s priorities. Through our strategy work, we helped them vet a potential acquisition candidate. The objective was to ensure this decision aligned with their broader tech strategy. 

Final Priority: Design Their Tech Strategy Framework 

Once we understood their business values and objectives, we were ready to design their tech strategy. We were able to create a strategic framework with the following elements: 

• Current State Assessment: We identified their current data and technology capabilities, including any gaps and opportunities. 

• Future State Assessment: We developed analysis around the business objectives they want to meet and the data and tech requirements they need to support that vision. 

• Strategy Roadmap: We designed a roadmap that outlined every aspect of their data and tech strategy. This document took into account in-house capabilities and a talent framework, and provided notional project vignettes.  

• Costs Estimate: We outlined every cost they could anticipate having when implementing their tech strategy. 

Outcome: A Robust Tech Strategy to Guide Them Toward Growth

Today, our client has an 18-month roadmap that outlines the technology, insights (data), talent, and process strategies for meeting their growth objectives. They have an action plan for every month to outline which steps they must take and which projects they lead or their partners lead. Further, they have the timeline for every implementation step and the associated tasks, benefits, and costs of the suggested strategy. Across the board, we’ve been able to position them with a robust tech strategy that offers real business value and can guide them toward their growth goals and beyond.