About Patrice DELECLUSE
Patrice has over 35 years of experience in performance management and digital transformation. As a former Vice President at Gartner, he supported over 50 CIOs in modernizing their information systems, managing technical debt, and strategically aligning IT investments. Patrice also worked as CIO for renowned companies such as PwC, McKesson Europe AG, and Mars Europe, where he focused on cost optimization and value creation. His expertise, spanning the services, retail, and FMCG sectors, makes him a recognized leader in supporting CIOs to meet the strategic expectations of senior management.
Partner at Hubadviser
Introduction
But then, two simple questions…:
- How do you define the operational efficiency of an IT department ?
- And above all, how can we improve it in a concrete and credible way ?
We’ve created this article to answer these questions. No jargon, no wishful thinking: a three-step method based on the experience of CIOs engaged in this transformation. You’ll find :
- The fundamentals for establishing a clear baseline: knowing what you do, what it costs, and what it brings in;
- Concrete levers for optimizing your services, your costs, and your interactions with business lines;
- How to structure sustainable momentum by engaging teams and demonstrating results to senior management.
Our ambition : to help CIOs regain control of their performance, make their voice heard in decisions, and assert their strategic role in creating value for the company.
Step 1: Build a clear reference base
Before optimizing anything, you first need to know what you’re actually doing, how much it costs, and what it’s for. This is the whole purpose of the reference database: to create an accurate and shared snapshot of the IT department’s actual activity.
This step allows everyone to align with the reality on the ground, to get rid of vague ideas, and to lay a solid foundation for managing future actions.
Identify the services actually delivered
Why ? Because many IT departments have a theoretical catalog, but which does not reflect real uses or current user needs.
Objective : Establish a clear map of the services actually delivered.
To document for each service :
- What ? (Type of service: messaging, ERP, support, hosting, etc.)
- Who provides it ? (Internal, service provider, offshore, etc.)
- Who uses it ? (Which businesses, BUs, regions, etc.)
- In what form ? (standard, specific, obsolete solution, etc.)
This helps identify redundancies, underused or overly personalized services, and paves the way for future simplification.
Understanding the real costs
Why ? Because talking about the IT department’s overall budget isn’t enough. What matters is the unit cost of services and their cost-to-value ratio.
Objective : Being able to say “this service costs X €, and it serves Y users in Z contexts”.
To do :
- Calculate units of work : cost per user, per ticket, per instance, etc.
- Reconcile this data with analytical accounting (CAPEX/OPEX)
- Clarify the assumptions used : pooling, depreciation, distribution keys, etc.
This makes it possible to objectify discussions, detect additional costs, and prioritize optimization actions.
Mapping existing indicators
Objective : to know if the service is reliable, useful and well managed.
Three main families of KPIs to collect :
- Operational performance : SLA, incident rate, MTTR (Mean time to repair)…
- Perceived quality : user satisfaction, business feedback, internal NPS, etc.
- Load and productivity : ticket volume, RUN vs BUILD distribution, etc.
This allows us to identify strengths, major irritants, and services that need to be improved as a priority.
Create the missing repositories
Available tools :
- Internal benchmarks : compare practices between entities, business units, regions, etc.
- Satisfaction surveys : to objectify perceptions of services
- Process audits : such as ITIL or COBIT, to assess maturity
The objective here is not to measure everything, but to provide a minimum, reliable and shared base to drive continuous improvement.
In summary
Building a baseline isn’t a formality. It’s the foundation that determines everything that follows. Without a clear vision of services, costs, and metrics, it’s impossible to act effectively or demonstrate progress. This step allows the IT department to break through the grey area, gain legitimacy, and lay the groundwork for a structured transformation.
Step 2 : Identify areas for optimization
Once the baseline is in place, the real work begins: transforming the findings into levers for action. The goal is no longer to measure, but to act on costs, burden, and the perception of value.
The key question to ask : where is the concrete room for maneuver?
This involves analyzing, line by line, the most resource-intensive positions, the most expensive services per user, and the most common irritants reported by the business lines. This work requires an approach that is both analytical and results-oriented.
Three families of levers to activate
- Reduce the volume of activity : limit unnecessary requests or inquiries (self-support, review of access rights, project governance, etc.)
- Reduce unit cost : rationalize the means necessary for the production of a service (automation, outsourcing, standardization, etc.)
- Improve perceived quality at constant cost : simplify usage, clarify processes, streamline IT/business interactions
The idea is not just to “do things cheaper”, but to make better decisions, to do things better and more simply, with controlled means.
Optimizing the IT service portfolio
In many IT departments, the service catalog has become more complex over time: technical legacies, specific requests that cannot be generalized, services maintained by inertia, etc.
Reducing the volume of activity is often the first lever for rapid gains.
Concrete actions :
- Eliminate redundant or obsolete services
Example : two email tools coexist (Exchange and Gmail), but only one is used at 90%
Solution : Migrate all users to the target environment and decommission the other
- Reduce specific customizations that cannot be shared
Example : business workflows developed specifically for a single entity
Solution : offer a standardized solution, adjusted to real needs, with strict governance on exceptions
- Introduce more flexible “as a service” offerings
Example : replacing heavy workstations with VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) for volatile populations
Another case : outsource local backup to managed cloud backup, with usage-based billing
This work requires close dialogue with the business lines: each deletion or transformation must be explained, documented, and supported by usage data or internal benchmarks.
Reduce unit production cost
Having streamlined the service portfolio, the challenge now is to reduce the production cost of the services retained. This isn’t about cutting back on quality or outsourcing everything at low cost, but about optimizing delivery methods. This approach is based on efficiency: producing as much, or even better, with fewer resources.
Three levers to mobilize
1. Optimize the onshore/offshore/nearshore distribution
Not all activities require the same level of proximity to the trades. It is therefore appropriate to adjust the geographical distribution of resources according to :
- business criticality,
- the level of interaction required,
- standardization of tasks.
This detailed analysis makes it possible to reduce costs without impacting the quality of service, by assigning each activity to the right level of execution.
2. Industrialize repetitive tasks
A significant portion of IT activities relies on recurring, manual, and low-complexity tasks. These tasks must be systematically identified and then handled using automation, scripts, or orchestration tools.
This approach not only reduces human costs, but also : This approach not only reduces human costs, but also :
- make operations more reliable,
- improve processing times,
- free up teams for higher value-added tasks.
3. Externalize non-differentiating blocks
Some technical or support activities do not provide a company with any competitive advantage. However, they consume human resources, specific tools, and mobilize already stretched internal teams.
Example: Network monitoring management or server patching are critical, but standardized activities. They can be outsourced to specialized service providers capable of performing them at an optimized cost, with formalized service level agreements (SLAs), while freeing up internal teams for higher-value issues.
These technical blocks should be analyzed as candidates for outsourcing when they meet these criteria :
- Low business added value : These are not differentiating elements of the company.
- High or recurring volume : the burden is significant, even if it is invisible in everyday life.
- Possible modularity : they can be transferred to a third party without loss of control or critical dependency.
The goal here is not to outsource massively, but to clarify what the IT department really needs to do itself, and what can be entrusted to partners better positioned to do it, with greater efficiency and reliability.
Improve perceived quality or simplicity at constant cost
It is sometimes difficult, if not impossible, to further reduce costs or business volumes. In this case, a third lever remains available: improving the quality of use, the clarity of journeys, and the fluidity of interactions, without increasing the budget.
This approach allows the IT department to strengthen its image among the business lines, improve user satisfaction, and promote its existing services, with constant resources.
Three lines of action :
1. Clarify the service offering
A significant portion of business dissatisfaction stems less from the quality of services than from their clarity. If users don’t know what the IT department offers, under what conditions, or how to access it, frustration increases.
Recommended actions :
- Formalize a comprehensive and widely disseminated catalog of services
- Clarify service level agreements (SLAs) and request procedures
- Standardize entry channels (portal, service center, etc.)
2. Simplify user journeys
The perception of quality often comes from ease of use: speed of access to information, reduction in the number of intermediaries, intuitive interfaces.
Recommended actions :
- Reduce unnecessary steps or validations in standard processes (material requests, account creation, access opening, etc.)
- Deploy intelligent self-service tools (dynamic FAQs, chatbots, guided forms)
- Conduct internal UX workshops to improve portals and workflows
3. Strengthening user support
An IT service may be technically sound but poorly used or misunderstood. Investing in adoption and acculturation allows you to maximize the value extracted from a tool or process without spending more.
Recommended actions :
- Create lightweight educational content : tutorials, videos, simplified guides
- Establish communities of IT relays or ambassadors in the professions
- Organize one-off training sessions or “clinics” on targeted topics
In summary
Improving perceived quality at a constant cost means transforming the user experience without increasing expenditure. This requires better communication, simplified usage, and more human support. This is a powerful lever because it impacts the relationship between IT and business, where the credibility of the IT department often comes into play.
Step 3 : Structure the transformation and bring the teams on board
Once the diagnosis has been made and the optimization levers identified, the main risk is to remain in the analysis stage… without moving on to execution. However, improving operational efficiency cannot be decreed: it must be managed over time, with method, determination, and consistency.
This isn’t just another project. It’s a structuring program that profoundly changes the way the IT department operates on a daily basis. It affects practices, habits, priorities, and sometimes internal balances. Without a clear framework and collective mobilization, isolated initiatives quickly run out of steam.
Structuring a solid management system
An effective transformation program relies first and foremost on a tight-knit, identified team with clear accountability. It cannot be carried out part-time or alongside other tasks. This core team must be able to :
- coordinate actions across the IT department,
- prioritize efforts based on expected gains,
- monitor results and alert in case of deviation.
This management must be linked to the Information Systems Department or the CIO Office, to ensure its strategic anchoring. It is ideally based on :
- a PMO dedicated to monitoring the program,
- a change management manager,
- relays in each technical or functional area (infrastructure, ERP, support, etc.).
This network allows us to maintain contact with the field, to identify blockages, and to disseminate good practices more quickly.
Deploy cross-functional governance
An operational efficiency program cannot succeed if it is imposed solely “from the top.” It must involve IT managers, because they are the ones who, every day, arbitrate requests, organize teams, and translate strategy into action.
Establishing cross-functional governance allows us to :
- ensure alignment between global priorities and local realities,
- create a space for regular dialogue on objectives, results, and adjustments to be made,
- provide visibility to all stakeholders on the program’s progress.
This involves simple but regular rituals: alignment committee, quarterly reviews, collective arbitrations. Steering must be based on concrete, measurable, and understandable results, not just on efforts or intentions.
Onboarding teams : training, explaining, simplifying
The success of transformation depends largely on the buy-in of operational teams. However, resistance to change is often linked to a lack of understanding, rather than to opposition in principle.
It is therefore essential to:
- explain the meaning of the approach : why it is undertaken, what it aims to improve, and what everyone gains from it,
- train on new standards or tools introduced (service catalog, automation, reporting, etc.),
- value the teams involved, by sharing successes, simplifying irritants, and establishing a culture of continuous improvement.
A particular effort must be made on internal communication : name of the program, visual supports, internal testimonials, collective rituals… All elements which contribute to creating a positive dynamic.
Measure impact and continuously adapt
Improving operational efficiency is a fundamental process. The initial gains should be visible quickly (quick wins), but the deeper benefits are long-lasting.
To maintain commitment and properly manage the transformation, it is necessary to :
- define a trajectory of indicators (baseline ➝ target at 12 months ➝ target at 24 months),
- build a clear dashboard, visible to both IT teams and senior management,
- celebrate successes, even modest ones, to maintain collective motivation.
To maintain commitment and properly manage the transformation, it is necessary to :
In summary
The success of an operational efficiency program depends as much on its rigorous management as on its ability to mobilize teams. It’s not an audit, nor a one-time initiative: it’s a long-term commitment that changes practices and strengthens the credibility of the IT department. Provided it’s structured, embodied, and shared.
Conclusion : Rethinking operational efficiency : a strategic approach for the IT department
In a context of budgetary pressures, growing system complexity, and heightened business expectations, improving operational efficiency is no longer an option for IT departments: it’s a requirement. But it’s important to know where to start and how to structure the effort over time.
This approach is based on three key steps :
- Build a clear reference base : establish a rigorous picture of the services delivered, their costs and their performance. Without this shared measurement base, it is impossible to manage effectively.
- Identify areas for optimization : Once the findings have been made, they must be translated into concrete levers, whether it is to rationalize the service portfolio, reduce unit costs or improve perceived quality without spending more.
- Structure the transformation and bring the teams on board : Success depends as much on the organization of the management as on the buy-in of the teams. This is not a one-off project, but a continuous improvement program that transforms the culture and daily practices.
What you need to remember :
Operational efficiency isn’t a purely technical exercise. It’s a lever for global transformation, involving the entire IT department, from governance to execution. It’s also a way for the IT department to regain initiative, demonstrate its value, and strengthen its position as a strategic partner to business lines and senior management.
