Independent IT Consulting
A proven approach to de-risk your technology decisions
De-risking Your technology decisions
Most organisations find key technology decisions daunting, intimidating and, let’s face it, risky. As an independent IT consulting business, Tango IT has your best interests at heart. Our service model operates on a fixed price deliverable basis.
We deliver outcomes. We help you get the most out of technology by providing impartial advice and expert guidance that empowers you to solve your business problems with innovative solutions.
Our unique process, refined over many years, creates a clear roadmap depicting the business journey to technological change in your organisation.
Define The Real need:
- By creating a Roadmap of where your business is now with your use of technology to where to you want to be.
- By collecting and documenting detailed functional, service, and non-functional requirements, including process maps and user stories.
- By building a solid business case to obtain funding and Exec Management Team / Board buy-in.
Procure The best solution:
- By conducting market research and identifying potential solutions from multiple suppliers.
- By handling supplier and solution review through a managed, transparent RFx process.
- By negotiating contracts to obtain the best value and terms for you.
Deliver the desired benefits:
- By properly planning a complete implementation.
- By managing the implementation process and providing effective change management.
- By optimising the use of your investment on an ongoing basis.
Define
Your Roadmap
The Tango team start by working with you to understand where you are, where you want to be, and what you want to achieve for your business. We examine your current state, the challenges you face, and your existing infrastructure, including systems, processes, software, support, and governance. We document your intended outcomes and create a roadmap of your journey toward accomplishing your goals.
We achieve this by:
- Confirming your planned future state business model;
- Developing a high-level technology roadmap detailing how to achieve your future state objectives; and
- Aligning the roadmap to your future state business model.
Your Requirements
When presenting your requirements to a potential supplier, you need a clear representation of what your business needs in a format that a technology company understands. With our Define service, we provide a deliverable that clearly documents your requirements to enable an informed evaluation of available solutions.
To gain a deeper insight into what your organisation needs, we work with key members of your team to understand your pain points and identify how those problems can be addressed with technology. Using our extensive experience, we also work to understand the functional requirements you need in a technological solution to help you meet your business objectives.
We achieve this by:
- Interactive collaborative workshops from experienced business analysts to define your requirements;
- Educating your team to understand what is possible so their vision isn’t constrained by what they already have; and
- Ensuring documented outcomes can be understood by both business professionals and technology solution providers.
Funding
If you are seeking external funding or need a business case to secure internal commitment, a strong understanding of both the required change and its positioning are crucial.
For clear and measurable business decisions, external funding providers such as Government grant providers, and internal budget holders such as CEOs and boards, need appropriate business cases. The documentation should clearly outline the needs, timelines, risks, costs, and expected benefits.As part of Tango’s independent consulting service, we specialise in the preparation of documentation to assist you in seeking funding by:
- Establishing your current state;
- Explaining drivers for change;
- Summarising the business benefits;
- Outlining identified risks and mitigation strategies;
- Plotting a high-level timeline;
- Providing an indicative budget for all costs;
- Clearly articulating your options; and
- Offering recommendations to proceed.
Procure
Identify
With Tango’s IT Procurement services, our experienced technology consulting team conduct extensive research to find the right solutions to meet your technology needs and business goals. Our experts examine offerings from potential suppliers across the market, including our wide network of industry connections.
In finding the right solution for you, we distil your requirements into a format that enables suppliers to quickly provide high-level responses to your needs. This sourcing process minimises the level of communication with suppliers who clearly do not fit.
For those we deem to be a good fit, expressions of interest are sought and a shortlist of suitable suppliers is created. To empower you in making your decision, the shortlist includes a high-level summary of each supplier’s capabilities and their total cost.
Throughout the IT procurement process, you have the freedom to choose whether you want to be known to the suppliers or not; we protect you from the sales process until the appropriate time.
Evaluate
Procurement ensures you can make an informed decision when choosing a suitable supplier that best matches your business. Support your decision by demonstrating fairness and transparency in the process.
We have eliminated the multitude of spreadsheets and documentation, replacing them with our online portal that provides transparency, visibility, and collaboration in the procurement process.
Depending on your needs, we select the appropriate method when going to market to ensure you get the result you are seeking (“the right horse for the right course”). This can include Requests for Information, proposals, quotes or tenders.
Negotiate
With your information technology solution identified and your supplier selected we help you reach agreement on pricing and contract terms, empowering you to make decisions from a position of knowledge and strength.
We start by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of your chosen supplier’s position relative to your organisation. We unpack the supplier’s contract, highlighting positive points and areas of concern with a traffic light view (see below), and presenting options to address those concerns in the negotiation. Crucially, Tango IT helps prevent the supplier controlling the negotiations by putting in place the structure you need to reduce your technology risks and build the right partnership.
Green = Contract conditions with a minor consequence to note
Amber = Contract conditions you may want to negotiate
Red = Contract conditions you should not accept
“Understand the contract you are signing and be in control.”
Deliver
Plan
With your technology solution identified and the contract locked-in, it’s time to plan the implementation. Managing the change effectively to derive the most benefit, while having the least disruption, can be an onerous task. We make it straightforward with detailed implementation planning that will work for your entire organisation.
We work with you and your chosen supplier to create a plan that clearly outlines project deliverables, dependencies, and critical timelines aligned to your roadmap. You and the supplier agree on the work required to deliver the business case outcomes, including a project management methodology and reporting to enable a smooth transition.
We establish a comprehensive change and communications plan, and a risk assessment plan to mitigate time delays, cost overruns, and other potential issues that could arise. We also establish a plan to keep all key stakeholders informed and alleviate any confusion in the delivery process.
Manage
It’s time for the rubber to hit the road. Our Deliver service brings your implementation plan to life as we begin the work to embed the technology and change in your organisation. Experienced project managers oversee the work, providing qualified, expert guidance and oversight of project deliverables to keep your project on track and guard against unforeseen circumstances and potential impacts.
Our managed project services give you the assurance you need that both the supplier and your team are on track toward achieving your goals. You are informed with regular status reports on project progress, potential risks, variations, quality, and budget.
Our assistance to you during this phase can be as big or as small as needed, with a team of experts in place to ensure your implementation runs smoothly.
Project Manager
Our experienced project managers use our reporting and project governance methodology aligned to the contractually agreed timelines to keep your project on track.
Business Analysts
Our business analysts ensure the detailed processes are supported and the transition to go live has the least possible impact on your team and your operations.
Change and Communications Team
Our change and communications experts ensure the right messages are given to the right stakeholders at the right time to keep them informed, engaged, and supportive.
Optimise
Getting business value from your technology investment is more than just installing software solutions, setting it up, and waiting for it to magically solve your business problems. There are countless examples of organisations implementing new technology to solve their problems, but, for whatever reason, the solution does not seem to work as they expected.
There could be any number of reasons why technology may not work as expected. Often, organisations lose sight of the holistic approach that needs to be applied when implementing a technological solution to address a business problem.
Changes may need to occur at a deeper level, including adjustments to policies and procedures, employee roles and responsibilities, and importantly, workplace culture. Critically, improvements need to be made to business processes the technology supports, to ensure the best return on investment.
“We’ve been working with Tango IT and are impressed with their high level of professionalism, communication, and reliability. Not only do Mark, Ian and their team have expert knowledge of information technology as a whole, they display this same level of knowledge within the space we’re working in too, which is crucial.”
Nita Jane - Acting CFO for the City of Greater Geraldton
“Over the past two years, Tango IT have been a wonderful support throughout a very complex initiative. Whilst we’ve dealt with IT providers and developers directly in the past, this was our first time working with a specialised IT consultant, and I can confidently say that having an intermediary has been invaluable.”
Jill Rundle - CEO of West Australian Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (WANADA)
“When it came to sourcing an appropriate ERP inventory system, we communicated with multiple product vendors only to find they were focussed on trying to sell their own products. There was no time or consideration taken to find out what we do and what we need for our business. Our experience with Tango IT couldn’t have been more different – and for the better”
Ian Bellinge - Managing Director of Elan Energy Matrix Pty Ltd
The roll out of Pharos across Cyrenian House has been successful. Your support and guidance along the way made such a difference in being able to implement this significant change piece across Cyrenian House. Thank you for your dedication to the role and your constant support and calming advice as we managed the inevitable bumps along the way.”
Nicola Iannantuoni – General Manager, (Non-Residential Services), Cyrenian House
“Right from the initial meeting, Tango IT were very accommodating, amicable, and efficient. Their approach was extremely professional and, when it came to presenting their recommendations, it was clear very thorough research had been undertaken. I’m very happy with the Tango IT service and look forward to continuing a great working relationship. I recommend them to any organisation.”
Michael Costarella - CFO, Shire of Peppermint Grove