CIO Straight Talk - Issue 7 - 66

66

We started from a clean sheet of paper. Our charter was to come up with
innovations, often small in scale, which could have a big impact in terms of cost
savings and improved efficiency.

Two years ago, under a new CEO,

Efficiency initiative, which fell under

impact. We had 13 different analytics

Shire underwent a significant

my team's responsibility. We wanted

platforms, some of which should have

reorganization designed to better

to identify the most obvious areas

been retired years ago or were only

serve patients and grow our business

where we could expend a little bit of

used for a very small function within

by collapsing multiple businesses

effort to greatly streamline certain IT

the business. We had five different

and establishing a simple "One Shire"

capabilities and deliver more value to

change management systems. It was

organizational model. We also had

the business. Those could be simple

clear we needed to settle on one.

a new CIO, who viewed that larger

things, like eliminating the cost of

transformation as an opportunity

redundant systems and the related

to streamline how we had been

infrastructure needed to support

delivering IT products and services.

them, or more complicated initiatives,

Crowdsourcing IT
Transformation

Prior to that, IT was organized

such as building consensus around

As a first step, the leadership

around our therapeutic business

the varied processes done different

team looked at the whole of the IT

lines. We had a number of IT

ways in different business units.

function-essentially broken down

functions that reported into local
business lines rather than the

An IT Efficiency Reboot

corporate headquarters. When our

into plan, build, and run-to figure
out what systems and processes we
needed to harmonize. We planned to

CIO joined, it was readily apparent

We started from a clean sheet of

that the way we delivered IT services

paper. Our charter was to come up

and capacity created numerous

with innovations, often small in

"What else would make a difference?

redundancies and prevented IT from

scale, which could have a big impact

What else could we do differently

responding effectively to overarching

in terms of cost savings and

to drive more value from IT and

business demands. So as the company

improved efficiency.

deliver more value for the business?"

tackle the low-hanging fruit first.
Then we continued meeting to ask,

reorganized and embraced a global

We began implementing the

supply chain and quality model, IT

concept two years ago, talking

our own, but we knew we had an IT

also came together as one global

among the IT leadership and some

organization eager to share

corporate IT function.

consultants we were working with.

their ideas.

We took several months to review

We knew there were some glaringly

We'd gotten as far as we could get on

First, I identified a leader for the

how IT operated in the past and

obvious opportunities for us. We had

IT Effectiveness and Efficiency

rethink how it might function in the

nine different learning management

"Office." Our appointed leader had

future to better support the business.

systems. There was no question

come to us through the acquisition

One of the biggest outcomes of that

that going from nine to something

of a biotech company. He was a

effort was our Effectiveness and

less than nine would have a positive

great technical leader who worked

CIO Straight Talk | 34
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 7

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CIO Straight Talk - Issue 7
