EXCEPTIONAL by DESIGN
Services
Noblestar is a professional services firm that specializes in information technology. We use IT to assist you in achieving your goals.
The Real Goals of Information Technology
Information Technology is just a means to an end. In general, organizations employ IT services firms like us to achieve three broad goals:
- Better Performance
There is no more fundamental goal being attempted by your organization. Better performance through the adroit use of IT includes increases in desirable outcomes - more sales, market share, customer satisfaction, specific competitive advantages, etc. On the flip side, IT could decrease undesired outcomes - less inventory shrinkage, worker injuries, idled equipment, etc. Essentially, IT is being used to assist the organization to achieve sustainable, superior performance. - Cost Reduction and Greater Efficiency
Achieving a high level of performance is only part of the equation. High performance that costs more than it delivers is useless. So, the costs of moving to a higher level of performance have to be considered as well. One of the earliest uses of IT was to cut costs, streamline processes, and make the enterprise more efficient and economical. IT still excels at achieving this goal. Like superior performance, cost reduction and greater efficiency can and should be pursued relentlessly. - Compliance
The top performing, economical, and efficient enterprise must do so while being in compliance with all required rules. This includes the obvious, like Sarbannes-Oxley, Basel II, the tax code, etc. Achieving and maintaining 'compliance' are responsible for a surprisingly large proportion of IT expenditures. It is rare for any IT project to not have two or all three of the above goals as the project's objectives. In fact, it is our policy that if we cannot see the IT project achieving one or more of the three goals, we have to respectfully decline, or redesign the engagement to achieve these goals.
Noblestar's Professional Services Continuum
The professional services we provide lie along a continuum of client engagements. At one end is the pure 'advisory' engagement. This is the classic IT consulting engagement where analysis, mentoring and/or knowledge transfer is the sole mission. This could be as straight-forward as training the use of a particular tool or as complex as the analysis and recommendation of a new structure for the client's IT organization. The objective of this type of engagement is to transfer a specific body of knowledge and expertise to the client.
At the other end of the continuum is the pure 'construction or implementation' engagement. In this type of engagement, the client has asked us to construct an IT system or implement an IT package with little or no involvement from them.
Now, no engagement is strictly one or the other. All engagements have some of both qualities.
The vast majority of our engagements are in the middle, leaning substantially toward the 'practical advisory' engagement. In our typical engagement, the client has asked for us to help them apply our best practices and technical skills to a project they are working on. We accomplish the project's objectives working side-by-side with our clients, sharing our knowledge and experience. Then, at the end of the day, the client has more than just a successfully-completed project; they also have an increased ability to complete the next project with less of our involvement.
Now, this sounds like a consulting business model that would be a recipe for running out of work for ourselves! But it really isn't. Our approach goes to the core of why we entered the consulting profession to begin with: first, to work on a variety of challenging and new assignments and second, to sincerely help the client. We are not just technical professionals. There is nothing better than to come to an end of an engagement knowing that the client recognizes the empathy we have for them and that we were truly helpful. That's why we are consultants.