Introduction: Benchmarking can be defined as “the search for the best practices in the industry as an opportunity to obtain a better performance”. This conception is gaining acceptance among organizations as a method of success to improve the performance of their information systems. Benchmarking is focused on practices, with the purpose of identifying, studying, and adopting the best internal and external examples. In the information systems environment, the practices to be analyzed include planning methods, joint application development with users, quality tests, training in facilitation skills for systems personnel.
IT benchmarking provides a valuable contribution to the way in which other companies address critical initiatives, as well as a useful and informed reference structure for decision-making and investment. This data can be of great help when a new solution is navigated, a new business is built or a project is warranted.
- Attitude towards changes and IT transformation
If the organization faces transformations without recognition, it is necessary to demonstrate how these changes are adding to the improvement of the business. Around the world, executives of IT organizations believe that the pace of change is happening faster and faster; while a minority, see that the IT areas are in the same place as before.
- Impact and challenges in IT transformation
More than half of the executives consider that more training and skills development is necessary to keep rate with the transformations, so providing them adds to the competition. It is also necessary to consider the changes that other IT companies face, in order to recognize if they are acting correctly or if their own problems are included in the rest and what is being done to solve it.
- Focus on maintenance against transformation
When considering how much of the percentage and time of the staff is devoted to management activities against the development of new projects, a result of greater investment in the first activities.
An important fact for an IT benchmarking initiative, since every organization must measure what is best for it, whether to focus on maintenance or transformation. This can provide insight into how other organizations are finding a certain balance in this regard, also showing opportunities for differentiation.
The main benefits of its application in organizations are found in the following aspects:
- Achieve a greater understanding of the dynamics of the products and services under analysis.
- Achieve a greater understanding about the needs of consumers (users / customers) and their expectations regarding the service.
- Maximize our objectives and performance levels according to these expectations.
- Generate incentives for professional teams that focus on the search for higher performance levels.
- Raise awareness among institutional work teams in order to gain a better understanding of internal processes that are subject to improvement and their impact on the quality of services.
- Achieve greater awareness about the dynamics of changes that affect organizations in the sector and other sectors, as well as the ability of our organization to adapt to them.
Achieve greater knowledge and understanding about competitors and the dynamics of the industry in our sector.
