I used to write a column for CW - called Inside Track.
"Thank goodness this is the last day of you telling us that boring piece of information - loser."
Never have I got anything so wrong as I did on 5th November 1998. No action today, except to please have a laugh at my expense, enjoy enjoy enjoy enjoy enjoy...
Just as well no-one ever read my column...
Euro Ready – coming or not?
Vote however you wish, believe whatever you want, and call it what you will – the “Euro” is coming. Clouded in political argument and emotion, IT directors want to know what is really going on, and what it means for their department and organisations.
Consider the horror of suddenly having to deliver ten or more major IT projects simultaneously within the space of 18 months. Add to this significant business change and upheaval, and we should all be on red alert.
The Euro’s arrival has crept up on us and has been largely ignored in favour of millennium work.
The impact on IT systems is enormous and trivialised so much that the issue has been all but ignored by the vast majority. Many believe it to be far bigger than the Year 2000 problem.
For any organisation, the transition to Euro is essentially an enforced change management problem with its own timetable and deadlines, the implications of which vary, according to the enterprise’s sector, own business strategy and the customer and competitive driven pressure to be Euro friendly.
Over the next few years European customers are likely to switch their allegiances to neighbouring suppliers within Euroland. The pound is set to strengthen in January and this will further damage exports. British industry is threatened with being closed out.
Companies in EMU countries must at some time prior to 2002, prepare their systems to accept transactions in Euro, either by switching to Euro as the base currency or implementing a system with multi-currency facilities.
Technology must be exploited to maximise product visibility, gear up marketing, advertise across the internet and enable on-line ordering - i.e. getting into e-commerce, as quickly as the Euro gets into Europe.
The Euro, opportunity or threat aside, will hijack your IT strategy. This is really serious and the Euro has already claimed its victims; several financial institutions had to shelve major projects earlier this year to focus on this area.
Time waits for no one:
Take a five-year view of the situation now – 2003 is our most likely entry year
Use the intervening period to best advantage, to rigorously assess the degree of change, formulate transition options and assess how the IT strategy is affected
Avoid embarking on long-term projects, which might be jeopardised in the event of Euro
Assess the size and complexity of changes and modifications required to applications and business data – focusing on your financial systems first
Ensure you know who will do this work – the Euro may well enforce a new skill crisis and staff shortage
Avoid at all costs being caught in the middle of a major project in 2002-3
The Euro challenge is about enabling competitive advantage through effective use of technology whilst maintaining operations and switching the base currency for the entire organisation.
The political debate is emotive, and fun to watch the commercial reality is that come 2003 many organisations are going to have to run faster then ever, just to stand still.
Next Week - story time
Have a lovely weekend
With my very best wishes
David
The Art of War - 5
To end the week on war - probably the greatest paragraph ever written about war - think how you might apply this in your career, in your life, and in your organisation...
"The principles of was, not merely one principle, can be condensed into one single word - 'concentration' - concentration of strength against weakness" B.Liddel Hart
Next week - you have been e-mailing me about "how-to's" in life - I now have 15 to give my suggestions to - starting next week. Please post a comment question or e-mail me at david@nakedleader.com if you have any issues, challenges or problems you need to resolve - fast, and I will tell you what to do - and you will do what I tell you, or you will commit to doing something else - the key is that you will do something - that's the deal
Thanks for reading
Have a lovely weekend
David