CoE, Demand Management, Solution Architecture, Hosting, Business Partners, Relationship Management, Solution Delivery

1. Building Blocks Of A
Center of Excellence (CoE)
Arup Dutta
May 2016

2. Why Center of Excellence
 Companies business processes are Run on Applications that
 Automate manual tasks
 Interconnect multiple process dependencies seamlessly
 Maintain Data Integrity against pre-defined business rules and inbuilt
security
 Enable Reporting on Key Business Metrics
 Secure processes
 Standardize processes……
 Some Applications form the backbone of Critical Functions Sales
Order Processing, financial reporting, engineering, manufacturing etc.
The business needs on these applications are continuous…..

3. What does a Center of Excellence Serve?
 Demand coming from changing business conditions e.g. new pricing
rules, product changes etc.
 Stable Platform for Business Continuity
 Replacing legacy systems with current-scalable applications
 Enable Business to Transform quickly to meet Market Demands
 Establish core business processes as competitive advantage
Demand from
Business
Stable Platform
(Business Continuity, Current Technology,
Security, Integration..)
Core Business Processes –
Solution Template
(Automation, Reporting, Data Integrity…)
Delivery of
Application
Change
Regional
Global

4. Business
Internal IT Partners
(Business Relationship
Management)
How? ->Center of Excellence Model
Platform Services &Compliance
& Security
Solution Architecture
(Global Template)
Regional CoE
(Support/
Enhancements)
Solution Delivery
(Portfolio Management/
Deployments/Release & Test
Management)
Business
Process
Owners
Center of Excellence (CoE) Organization
Design Implementation & Operation

5. External
Partners
Building Blocks- Platform Services/Compliance and
Security
Platform and Security Management
• Go-To for System performance, storage, system refresh,
connectivity
• Plan/Execute Major System Upgrades
• Security Support
Integration/Platform/Secuirty Development
• Own and Enforce Development standards for Support
and Projects
• Quality Gate for All Technical Development
• Manage Offshore Development Teams
• Lead all Development Activities
• Security Role Design and Development
BusinessPartnerManagement
TechnicalDemand
fromSupportor
Projects
Internal IT
Partners
Enterprise
Architecture
Group
Software Management
• Manage Support of Software with Software provider
through Maintenance Agreements
• Point of Escalation for any Software Issues
• Align with EA on Architectural Changes
• Collaborate and Execute on Enterprise Wide
Architectural Changes
Hosting
Provider (IaaS,
PaaS)
System
Integrator/
Application
Managed
Service
IT Procurement

6. Internal IT
Partner
External Partners
Building Blocks- Solution Architecture
Solution Template (Functional Design from Process
requirements)
• Educate on Standard Out of Box Business Processes to
Manage Requirements
• Own Template Design and Approval of Template
Deviations
• Lead Solution Design for Deployments and Global
Changes
Solution Configuration (Functional Configuration)
• Own and Enforce Solution Template standards for Support
and Projects
• Quality Gate for All Solution Configuration
• Manage Offshore Configuration Teams
• Lead all Configuration Activities
Governance of Solution Template
• Manage and Prioritize Business Demand
• Go To for all Solution Inquiries
System Integration
Partner Or
Application
Managed Services
Partner
Functional
DemandfromProjects
andSupport
Global Process
Owners
Business Process
Owners/Leaders
Business
Relationship Leads
BusinessPartnerManagement

7. Internal IT Partner
External Partners
Building Blocks- Support
Solution Support
• Requirements
• Work on scoping of small enhancements
• Lead Solution Design for small enhancements
and Break fixes
• Provide consultation on Day to Day Solution
Issues
Break Fix /Enhancement
• Manage/Execute on Break Fix and Small
Enhancement Demand
• Support Business on Day to Day issues on Data
and Process
• Partner with Solution Architecture and Platform
services on Global Changes
System Integration
Partner Or
Application
Managed Services
Partner
Support
Demand
Internal Business
Partner
Business Process
Owners/Leaders
Business
Relationship Leads
BusinessPartnerManagement

8. Internal IT
Partner
External Partners
Building Blocks- Solution Delivery & Release and Test
Management
Portfolio Delivery Management
• Build Program Portfolio on a rolling schedule.
Communicate with Stakeholders. Incorporate New
Demand on the schedule. Provide cost numbers for new
project demand
• Partner with Business Relationship Lead to define
business value on IT Investments and get Approvals on IT
Spend
• Manage/Update Scope/Budget/Schedule/Resources and
Risk for Active programs/Projects
• Responsible for Program/Project Dashboard Reporting
System Integration
Partner Or
Application
Managed Services
Partner
Project
Demand
Internal Business
Partner
Business Process
Owners/Leaders
Business
Relationship Leads
Release and Test Management
• Plan/Publish a rolling schedule of Releases.
• Authorizing all Production Moves
• Approval for Emergency Releases
• Partner with Solution Architecture and Platform services
on Reigonal/Global to include Changes
• System Landscape Management- authorizing refreshes
and system movements
• Test Management - Regression
BusinessPartnerManagement

9. Prioritized
Demand Flow & Decision Criteria's
Regional
Demand
Global
Demand
Regional
Support
Global
Solution
Architects
Assessment of
Impact on
Template
- Existing
Template with
Changes or
- New Template
Global
Business Process
Owner Approval
Solution
Delivery
through
Managed
Releases
IT Business
Relationship
Management

10. Summary
 Business Critical Applications tend to have dedicated Center of
Excellence organizations
 The Center of Excellence organizations are experts on the platform,
solution and are very familiar with the company business processes,
data, business partners.
 Center of Excellence Organizations partner with IT Business
Relationship teams, Business process owners to assess, prioritize, cost
demand.
 Center of Excellence Organizations are evolving continuously to value
add roles with commoditized roles going to Low Cost Countries (
Application Managed Services, Hosting Partners etc..)