Improving IT performance and satisfaction with data-driven insight from Info-Tech

IT executive Sheri Horwitz cultivates learning and growth to drive innovation in technology

Synchronoss Technologies builds software that empowers companies around the world to connect with their subscribers in trusted and meaningful ways. A global leader and innovator in cloud, messaging, and digital solutions, the company creates products that help streamline networks, simplify onboarding, and engage subscribers to unleash new revenue streams, reduce costs, and increase speed to market.

Sheri Horwitz has worked at Synchronoss since the company was founded in 2000. In her over 20-year history with the organization, Horwitz has worn many hats. Her early days were spent in Product Management getting the company’s first solutions off the ground. A move to Engineering built expertise in broadband and then cloud technologies. In mid 2017, Horwitz stepped into the IT department, where she is now Senior VP, IT. The experience she gained over the years in different roles and departments has led Horwitz to a leadership approach that is rooted in communication and collaboration. “A big part of my leadership style is to actively reach out to build bridges between organizations and to help people communicate and understand where others are coming from. Another important goal is to cultivate and empower talent by giving people the opportunity to shine, develop their careers, and grow as leaders,” explained Horwitz.

Improving core IT processes and building a data-driven IT strategy

Another tenet of Horwitz’s leadership approach is to seek out the experts and ask questions when she finds herself in unfamiliar territory. It was this drive for knowledge that led Horwitz to Info-Tech at a Society for Information Management (SIM) event. Relatively new to her IT role, she saw Info-Tech as a valuable source of information on different tools and technologies. She explained, “I’ve been put into leadership positions where I didn’t have expertise in what I was leading. I push forward and learn, I ask a lot of questions, I read, and I seek out subject matter experts. Info-Tech seemed like a very good fit, with a service that my company and I could benefit from. It’s been a great fit, with Info-Tech helping in multiple ways.”

With an Info-Tech membership, Horwitz benefits from best-practice tools and templates, step-by-step methodologies, benchmarking and diagnostic programs, and training and executive coaching. Access to these services helps Horwitz manage and improve core IT processes, build a data-driven IT strategy, quickly and effectively complete projects, and train and develop IT leadership. Her Counselor-level membership includes dedicated access to an executive counselor, custom diagnostic benchmarking access, unlimited contract review services, and front-of-the-line analyst access.

Measuring IT performance improved delivery of services

Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision is a high-impact program that delivers a detailed report on an organization’s satisfaction with IT services. For Horwitz, it was a critical diagnostic tool that would give her a valuable baseline from which to set goals for improvement. Still relatively new to IT, she was trying to understand and assess the department’s challenges. “The CIO Business Vision diagnostic is something I really believed in as a leader. We had to measure how we were doing as an IT organization and what our internal customers thought of us. There’s no way that you can improve without measuring where you are. It was great that Info-Tech had that service,” said Horwitz.

Using the results of the survey, Horwitz and her team developed a plan of action to improve IT performance and satisfaction. A year later, they repeated the survey to compare the results. “Because of the insights we obtained from running the CIO Business Vision diagnostic and the improvements we were able to make as a result, we saw our satisfaction scores improve 7% year over year,” reported Horwitz. Pleased with the results, which even had the attention of the Synchronoss CEO, Horwitz noted the value of the survey: “I can’t say enough about CIO Business Vision. I highly recommend it to other IT leaders because it provides valuable feedback that allows you to meet and exceed your customers’ expectations.”

“Because of the insights we obtained from running the CIO Business Vision diagnostic and the improvements we were able to make as a result, we saw our satisfaction scores improve 7% year over year.”

– Sheri Horwitz, Senior VP, Technical Shared Services

Reviewing software contracts led to $350,000 in savings

Knowing that well-negotiated software contracts are critical to IT success, Horwitz has begun using Info-Tech’s Price Benchmarking and Negotiation Service to help find savings in new vendor contracts. Info-Tech offers an expert approach to review contracts holistically, optimizing terms, conditions, and prices. “We introduced this service this year for some of our bigger contracts. We recently finalized a major software renewal contract and Info-Tech’s guidance helped us with benchmarking and providing the data needed to put us in a stronger position, leading to savings of about $350,000,” said Horwitz.

Leading and learning with Info-Tech counsel

Committed to learning and growth for herself and her team at Synchronoss, Horwitz organized for all of them to attend Info-Tech’s leadership training workshop, a session they refer back to often for the tips they learned. Horwitz also regularly takes advantage of her dedicated Info-Tech executive counselor, who supports her commitment to sharing knowledge and expertise. “My executive counselor is amazing – she runs a monthly session for us with speakers from the industry on topics that are relevant to all of us. I can’t say enough about those,” Horwitz said. She noted that she is regularly solicited by another advisory firm, but concluded, “I’m really happy with my Info-Tech team.”