BARCLAYCARD MERCHANT SERVICES ALIGNS IS STRATEGY WITH BRAND VALUES

Independent Consulting Company Dominic Barrow Drafted In To Help Maximise Credit Card Companys IS Investments

Independent Consulting Company Dominic Barrow Drafted In To Help Maximise Credit Card Companys IS Investments

Independent consulting company, Dominic Barrow, today announces that financial transactions giant, Barclaycard Merchant Services, has implemented its unique approach for maximising the value of Information Systems investments. Barclaycard Merchant Services has embraced Dominic Barrows method to facilitate the alignment of IS investments to critical success factors and brand values.

Within a week, Barclaycard Merchant Services was able to identify the essential components required to deliver its core business strategy and create an IS investment strategy. After three weeks Barclaycard Merchant Services had put together a blueprint for the core components and qualities of its future IS architecture, and came up with a model of how the company needed to move ahead with its IS investments.

What impressed me was that the recommendations put forward were in a business language -- not confined to technical jargon -- so that every member of the board could easily relate to them," explained Barclaycard IT and Operations Director, Steve Adams.

Together, Dominic Barrow and Barclaycard Merchant Services identified six critical success factors by which to evaluate proposed investments. These are:

o   Leverage of existing assets (information and technologies);
o   Managed costs of ownership;
o   Synergies across individual programmes and projects;
o    Alignment with the Barclaycard Brand
o   Cohesive information flows;
o   Future business flexibility.

A dedicated IS architecture team appraises each project or implementation, with approval dependent on its ability to deliver success within the six criteria. The IS architecture team then works alongside the enterprise team, which maintains consistency of brand-alignment, and the technology-focused IT team, to ensure a close adherence to this strategic framework.

It has been a major mindset shift for us at Barclaycard Merchant Services. We now analyse various business scenarios to deduce what we need to achieve to meet them," explained Barclaycard Merchant Services Head of Investment Services, Mike Pickles. We put ourselves three years into the future, examine the steps we need to take, then implement the steps one by one -- always in alignment with the latest business thinking."

Barclaycard Merchant Services new approach to IS investment now includes IS within its core business strategy rather than viewing it in a purely technical context" commented Director of Dominic Barrow, Chris Potts. By working backwards from mission-critical value milestones, and keeping all investments within a clearly defined framework, Barclaycard Merchant Services is delivering an inclusive IS strategy for long-term success."

About Dominic Barrow

Dominic Barrow is an independent company that specialises in helping businesses to maximise the value of their IT investments, through unique, value-driven IT investment strategies. Dominic Barrow delivers hands-on consultancy with skills transfer, as well as training, public seminars and in-house workshops. With a highly specialised approach and core competencies, results are delivered in days rather than weeks or months. Independent of any IT provider, Dominic Barrow has worked with organisations in many industries, including banking, insurance, credit card services, pharmaceuticals, airlines, manufacturing, 'big five' consultancies, care services and government agencies. More information at www.dominicbarrow.com.

Barclaycard Merchant Services

Barclaycard Merchant Services, part of Barclaycard, is one of Europes largest acquirers and processors of plastic card transactions. In 2001, 1.4 billion purchases were made with credit and debit cards in the 131,000 outlets belonging to Barclaycard Merchant Services customers in the UK. Barclaycard Merchant Services operates the largest on-line, real time bank owned EFTPOS ( Electronic Funds Transfer at the Point of Sale) system in the UK with a PDQ terminal base of over 123,000.

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