Avantage is organized into Practices that include team members that are specially equipped, trained and experienced within that practice area. Additionally, Practices contain intellectual property, tools, methodology and even partner relationships. Each Practice will have one or more solutions or programs. Each Practice will have a practice lead who manages the development and delivery of everything from team members to intellectual property.
Strategy and Planning
Your company likely faces a multitude of challenges when designing and executing on your corporate strategy. Too often we fail to differentiate a strategic review from the annual budgeting process, or lack an appropriate approach for strategic planning. Avantage has developed core capabilities and standard tools that can help you develop your strategy, communicate your strategy and accelerate the alignment and execution of the strategy by your core business units.
Execution and Performance Management
Avantage goes well beyond simple benchmarks to develop a culture of performance based on execution and alignment. Though measurement is critical, our approach focuses on measuring business outcomes vs. measuring activities that are presumed to deliver business outcomes. We use leading and lagging measures to ensure your workers, workgroups and partners are having the right discussions, making the right decisions and focusing on the right actions.
Technology Business Management (TBM)
The core principles of Technology Business Management are similar to the core principles of sales, manufacturing or any other corporate business function. Like a sale or a manufactured good, IT is responsible for managing and reporting on the cost, performance and planning process associated with delivering those products or services to the business. This is the IT Operating Model. This is how modern IT leaders manage their technology business.
Our TBM practice includes team members with deep experience and expertise in all facets of technology business management, including IT operations, IT finance, IT business alignment and IT change management.
Service Integration and Automation
With a long history of providing service integration and automation solutions to customers, including 'enterprise application integration', workflow automation and even supply chain integration, Avantage continues to provide leadership in delivering practical solutions that offer specific and measurable business returns.
Governance, Risk and Compliance Management
The Avantage Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) practice brings the right blend of experience, expertise, tools and approach to focus on practical outcomes, whether they be financial performance, productivity or market agility. Our approach avoids simple checklists and risk audits and rather focuses on the end-state. Our approach focuses on optimal execution and alignment to strategy, within the context of governance, risk and compliance, which is the most effective way to establish long-term business benefit.
Enterprise Service Management (ESM)
At Avantage we believe that everything should be treated as though it is a service. We believe that when you start to think about processes, workflow and activities as being services that must necessarily deliver value, have a cost to deliver, have 'customers' and even have 'suppliers', you can then constructively seek to enhance your service portfolio through increased efficiency, throughput, capacity, decreased cost, increased 'service margin' and even decreased risk.
TBM as a Managed Service
In order to realize benefits of a mature Technology Business Management environment there are several key capabilities and disciplines that must be implemented and developed within your organization. We take into consideration your current capabilities, desired state and even your organization's capacity for change. This program includes access to our entire library of tools, documentation and research through your TBM Advisor to ensure that value is delivered quickly, meaningfully and in alignment with your objectives.
Continuous Improvement Program
Using the lean principles, based on Kaizen , our Continuous Improvement Program is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. These efforts can seek "incremental" improvement over time or "breakthrough" improvement all at once. Delivery (customer valued) processes are constantly evaluated and improved in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility.
ESM Advisory Services
Optimizing your service management delivery consists of several key capabilities and disciplines that must be implemented and developed within your organization. The ESM Advisory Services Program is a lightweight program that starts with the assignment of a fractional, but dedicated ESM Advisor that works with your team to design a bespoke program that is tailored to delivering the specific areas of benefit that are of value to you and in alignment with your needs.