If you haven’t invested in a new technology to help you realize your business’s strategic goals in 2024, you’re already behind the curve. This article explores why strategic portfolio management technology could be the key to meeting your business objectives.
Achieving business objectives requires company-wide effort, with the project management office (PMO) playing a critical role. Traditionally, leaders have leveraged Project Portfolio Management (PPM) for this alignment, but many of today's leading PMOs are now looking to embrace Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM).
Amid growing uncertainty and complexity, SPM's top-down decision-making approach offers a clear path for aligning investments with goals. When supported by strategic portfolio management technology, this allows organizations to set new standards for success. In the following article, we'll explore 4 reasons to digitalize SPM: enabling agility, accelerating decision-making, improving stakeholder engagement, and realizing PMO value.
Strategic Portfolio Management Technology for the PMO
A recent PwC Pulse Survey found that 59% of executives and 60% of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are investing in new technology. In other words, if you haven’t already invested in a new technology to realize your business’s strategic goals, you’re already behind the curve. And if you have, you need to be confident about the value and return on investment (ROI) it provides.
Strategic portfolio management technology, for example, can increase business value in a number of ways, including:
Boosting operational efficiency
Improving resource allocation
Reducing waste
Cutting costs
Accurately forecasting finance and demand using intelligent algorithms
Identifying real-time risks through AI-enabled features like what-if scenario planning
But these benefits are just the start. When businesses shift focus from individual operational wins to comprehensive strategic alignment, technology can do even more. Let's dive in.
1. Enabling Agility in Volatile Markets
Economic turbulence, shifting consumer behavior, and unpredictable global events have made long-term strategy planning difficult for businesses. By providing businesses with a single source of truth for all data, projects, and portfolio objectives, strategic portfolio management technology:
Enables business-wide visibility and transparency
Fosters flexibility among teams
Promotes a culture of continuous improvement
2. Accelerating Decision-Making And Reducing Waste
The events above and others like them increase the pressure on businesses to drive greater profitability. This often means higher workloads, squeezed budgets, and increased emphasis on project ROI for PMOs and project teams.
In this context, strategic portfolio management technology becomes invaluable, as it provides accurate and intelligent data about past projects, resource allocation, risks, and demand. With these insights, PMOs can make informed decisions, confidently justify them to stakeholders, optimize resources, and reduce waste.
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3. Improving Stakeholder Engagement
When faced with increased pressure and complexity, stakeholders tend to scrutinize business operations more closely to ensure quick ROI on initiatives. Strategic portfolio management technology provides holistic visibility to stakeholders and project teams alike through dynamic dashboards and automated reports.
This comprehensive and transparent view allows for better engagement, communication, and trust between all levels of the organization.
4. Realizing the PMO’s Strategic Value
The PMO maintains a wealth of business data, including market trend analyses, ESG metrics, and historical resource capacity insights. Adopting the SPM methodology enables the PMO to leverage this information for not just operational efficiency but more effective project forecasting and strategic decision-making. With the right strategic portfolio management technology to support this evolution, businesses benefit from:
A centralized intelligence hub
Accurate predictive analytics
Enhanced demand, risk, and financial forecasting
AI-enhanced portfolio balancing and prioritization
Optimal resource allocation
Clear alignment with business goals
By realizing these benefits, the PMO can significantly contribute to aligning strategic objectives with day-to-day operations, thus maximizing its strategic value and driving overall business success.
Thrive With Strategic Portfolio Management Technology
Strategic portfolio management equips PMOs with the necessary framework to navigate today's complexities and successfully execute on organizational strategy. By digitalizing this future-looking approach with strategic portfolio management technology like Planisware, organizations can enhance decision-making, optimize resource allocation, and achieve clearer alignment with stakeholders and business goals. In other words, embracing these tools is the necessary next step for organizations to thrive, not merely survive.
