Client Background
The Atlantic Association of Community Business Development Corporations (AACBDC) is a network of autonomous, not-for-profit organizations that work in cooperation with all levels of government and the private sector to meet the needs of small business. In rural Atlantic Canada there are 41 corporations — each dedicated to the development of small business and job creation in their communities. These CBDCs are part of a larger network of some 268 corporations who are dedicated to meeting the financing and advisory needs of small and medium-sized businesses across Canada.

Client Challenge
The AACBDC employs a committee structure to make decisions on IT standards and shared service models to support the operation of the 41 different offices. This MIS committee, with many non-technical personnel, is charged with the governance of the overall approach to information management and IT systems support for the entire group of CBDCs. In fall 2003, the committee initiated a two part process designed to audit and review these collective operations and to make recommendations for improved service and better alignment between business objectives and their IT policies and partners.

Triton Data Solution
Working closely with the AACBDC over the past two years, Triton has collaborated with the organization executive (located in Mulgrave, NS) and regional MIS committee members to engage in a strategic review and audit of their IT operations in all four Atlantic Provinces. Triton lead a business process review assessment and provided a strategic report making recommendations regarding the business case behind various proposed organizational changes and IT initiatives. Triton helped the AACBDC’s personnel to compile an inventory of their IT infrastructure and developed a new RFP process for selection of an ASP vendor.

Outcome and Project Benefits
The strategic report and recommendations helped the AACBDC to refine their approach to the governance of their information systems and significantly reduced costs for their ASP-delivered software. The MIS committee was then able to better focus its discussion on their business objectives, without distracting issues of operational support. This increased clarity of vision for collaboration between the offices, is an important ingredient in the organization’s ongoing funding applications. The organization is now able to demonstrate more cost-effective management of IT operations among the 41 separate offices.