Gartner IT Operating Model Assessment for Midsize Enterprises

The Gartner IT Operating Model Assessment for Midsize Enterprises (MSEs) helps CIOs understand how to improve their overall value contribution through an analysis of their IT operating models and teams’ staffing distribution.

Level-up your IT operating model

Build front-office capabilities

Spend more time planning, strategizing, innovating and prioritizing so execution teams can deliver on the right initiatives.

Develop strategic service portfolio

Increase confidence around achieving desired outcomes from your operating model.

Evolve performance metrics

Align with strategic business outcomes to improve enterprise and IT strategy execution.

Increase teams’ business acumen

Develop expertise in business process reengineering while modernizing shared enterprise applications and infrastructure.

Mapping IT operating models for strategic transformation

  • Level 1: Asset
  • Level 2: Process
  • Level 3: Service
  • Level 4: Value
  • Level 5: Invention

Use Gartner insight to increase IT’s value contribution

Midsize enterprise CIOs who struggle to deliver strategic value at the speed expected by their CEOs and boards of directors should use this Assessment to quickly evaluate their current IT operating model and staffing distributions and compare these to where they aspire to be. The tool provides recommendations for improvement that can be further analyzed with their business context through conversations with executive partners, analysts and advisors.

The Process-Optimizing Operating Model Pattern

The process-optimizing pattern represents a mostly traditional approach to managing IT, with a focus on technical and process prowess. In this model, IT acts as a reactive service provider and order taker. The process-optimizing model is still very much focused on IT efficiency but concentrates on IT process outcomes, thereby resolving the coordination, accountability and predictability weaknesses common to the asset model.
Map Maturity Level 2: Process

The Service-Optimizing Operating Model Pattern

The service-optimizing pattern focuses on service outcomes, proactively optimizing the internal customer’s experience while explicitly achieving contractually negotiated SLAs focused on cost and quality goals. In this model, IT adopts a customer centric mindset. IT runs like a business and adopts many of the attributes of a competitive business, becoming more of a strategic choice for business stakeholders rather than a commodity. 
Map Maturity Level 3: Service

The Value-Optimizing Operating Model Pattern

The term “value” is used to describe those models that leverage IT for clear enterprise competitive advantage. The value-optimizing pattern therefore expands the IT operating model beyond the constraints of the IT organization, as many roles and functions across the enterprise seek to exploit IT to optimize or disrupt value chains, delivering business capabilities that expand competitive differentiation. The CIO and IT organization have a key role in orchestrating and bridging the gap between those stakeholders, and conversely, the value-optimizing ITOM pattern cannot be successfully implemented without the support and co-leadership of business partners.
Map Maturity Level 4: Value

The Invention-Optimizing Operating Model Pattern

The invention pattern builds on the goals and capabilities of the value model, leveraging technology capabilities to reinvent the business model rather than simply expanding existing models. Invention-optimizing organizations are aggressively ambitious in driving disruption of their industry, ecosystems or sectors and must be equally comfortable disrupting themselves. CIOs in this model are business leaders who help set rather than shape the strategic direction for the enterprise.
Map Maturity Level 5: Invention

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