What we do

We work closely with organisations to help them get better value from their processes, people, information and technology. We typically work client-side helping to scope and deliver business improvement and IT-enabled business change.

We help clients to introduce and embed new ways of working and new technologies, ensuring that the envisaged benefits of their investment are fully realised. We work closely with them throughout the change process to minimise the risk of failure and any disruption to the ongoing operation of the business.

We work with our clients across the business, information and technology layers and our experience of how all of these are interlinked and interdependent helps us to deliver successful outcomes. Our assignments typically include all or part of the following:

•	scoping and shaping an opportunity or initiative
•	developing the business case and benefits realisation plan and then mobilising the change and communications process
•	analysing the business needs, issues and potential solutions
•	designing and assuring technology implementations
•	optimising, standardising and aligning business processes
•	managing third party suppliers and preparing the business for a new system
•	leading business acceptance and benefits realisation

Recent initiatives

Some of the initiatives we have recently supported include:

•	customer billing process standardisation and a shared service supporting an operation in many countries across Europe
•	creation of project delivery services and portfolio benefits planning
•	introduction of mobile and remote working across a large organisation
•	design and implementation assurance of major information gathering and intelligence systems and collaboration technologies
•	strategic ICT and IM improvement planning
•	review and recommendations for reducing the cost of an outsourced application testing service

Our approach

We do not simply rely on prescriptive approaches to solve our clients’ problems. Instead, we use our knowledge and expertise to offer pragmatic advice and solutions which are based on real experience.

We are able to provide strategic advice and guidance and we undertake real hands-on delivery.

What we don’t do

We don’t undertake any form of software development and we don’t resell other people’s products.

Successful business transformation

Successful business change and improvement are essential for organisations if they are to respond to economic conditions, new opportunities and changing customer needs.

Unfortunately, people are often very suspicious of change because it undermines many of the certainties in their environment. They feel worried and threatened. Understanding the human element of change is key to achieving it. It is essential to create people’s desire for change by letting them participate in shaping and promoting the process of change.

Business change is not ‘business as usual’. All transformation programmes and projects need clear ownership and governance that focuses the activity to minimise businiess risk, overcome challenges and meet corporate objectives.

Our clients are now increasingly aware of the need to link all business change to well defined and understood benefits. To ensure the envisaged benefits are realised, it is essential to baseline existing corporate capabilities and to make people directly accountable for delivering the benefits they have forecast.

How we can help

We help organisations to deliver successful change and improvement by focusing on the key elements of change. Each element is developed to support the corporate goals, objectives and strategy. We use a participative approach to integrate different points of view, managing both hard and soft issues, to create a shared vision for change.

We are helping our clients to:

•	design business solutions
•	create the change management approach
•	mobilise the change team
•	identify, plan and realise benefits
•	optimise, standardise and align processes
•	introduce and embed new ways of working
•	implement programme governance and assurance

 

"Medley brought a delivery focused consulting team that both enhanced and complemented our own project team and provided excellent knowledge and support to deliver a major programme of business change within our business."

Head of Project Management Governance - Network Rail

Intelligent information management

Despite all of the clichés and words of wisdom, corporate information remains a vital but poorly managed resource in virtually every organisation.

However, more people are now waking up to the extent of the problem and the potential benefits that can be realised through better information management. Increasing volumes of poor quality data and an awareness of the potential risks of data loss are motivating more people to take action.

Our clients are looking to drive down the cost of managing their information by:

•	optimising how information is captured, moved and stored
•	reducing data processing errors and improving data quality
•	minimising the amount of management reports that are produced

They are also trying to drive more value out of the information that they already have to build better knowledge and decision-making capability.

Too much emphasis is usually placed on the technologies that are used to manage and share information. The selection and deployment of the most appropriate technology is important. However, it is far more important to understand what information the business actually needs to support its customers, operate its processes efficiently and make strategic decisions.

Underpinning all of this is the increasing need for secure handling and management of information. This means putting procedures and guidelines in place to ensure all functions and processes know how information should be accessed and released.

How we can help

We are helping our clients to:

•	review their business processes and information flows
•	understand the data they use, its value and quality
•	create their information management strategy and an improvement delivery plan
•	analyse operational data and review management information reporting
•	develop and implement information assurance management systems

 

"Medley has made a valuable contribution to Information Management in our department. They provided a highly professional and responsive team that carried out a comprehensive analysis of the issues and identified options and recommendations that were incorporated into an overall strategic plan. They were particularly adept at handling stakeholders and ensuring that the end product met customer expectations.”

Head of Information Management – Government organisation

Cost-effective technology deployment and business alignment

Technology is a great enabler. It is also a great enabler of disasters. Despite all of the well publicised stories of failure, we still see clients taking unnecessary risks through inexperience, putting too much focus on cost-reduction or placing too much trust in their suppliers.

To ensure IT functions provide a successful, value-add service to their business they must have:

•	a strategy that aligns the IT to the needs of the business
•	in-depth knowledge of the technologies and approaches used
•	established stakeholder engagement and business demand management processes
•	strong management of suppliers
•	a robust testing and ‘transition to live operation’ capability

Virtually every organisation now has some form of outsourcing arrangement or is planning to put one in place. There are considerable benefits to be gained by doing this but it is essential that business and IT people fully appreciate that outsourcing requires careful planning and active management through some form of dedicated intelligent client function.

How we can help

We are helping our clients to:

•	develop their IS/IT strategy and plan the improvements
•	evaluate the options and design cost-effective solutions
•	set up and operate the Technical Design Authority
•	improve their IT function, delivery lifecycle and acceptance testing
•	plan the transition to outsourced services and to engage with third parties
•	create an Intelligent Client Function (Retained Strategic Capabilities)
•	assess security threats and design appropriate solutions

 

“Medley has provided excellent support to the programme that is at the heart of our reorganisation and Green IT initiatives. The depth of their technical expertise and their proactive management of suppliers have made a strong contribution to ensuring that we have achieved the impressive benefits arising from the programme.”

CIO – Central government department