Interim IT Director

26/03/2008

This large advertising agency wanted to move into digital marketing and launch a new division focused on web technology. But its existing IT systems were simply not up to the task. It decided to press ahead with the strategy, but needed to remedy the situation and remove the business risk.

Alium was asked to find an interim IT Director who could raise IT support to a professional standard and ensure that IT was providing value for money. The interim management executive recommended that the agency outsource its IT to a professional supplier for three years, and reduce the internal IT department to a minimum. He then managed all service, price and contract negotiations on behalf of the client – introducing immediate support, outside the main negotiations, to protect the agency in the short term. He ensured that the support costs were cut right down and existing staff were transferred to the outsourcer under TUPE regulations.
With the immediate risk mitigated, the interim management professional then focused on long-term strategy, evaluating existing systems according to business risk and recommending replacement systems and a priority implementation plan. As a result of the interim executive's initiatives, the company now has professional IT support with reliable systems.