When To Stop Your IT Investments?

IT Success is All in the Approach

Long time, no post everyone! Sorry I have been MIA. Life has been hectic (brother off to college, promoted at work, knee issues with cycling, and building a restaurant reviews website/blog), but I'm starting to find a routine again.

As you all know, I am pro-IT. I think the opportunities Information Technology can bring a business and society as a whole are amazing and still an untapped resource that many businesses do not take advantage of because energies are focused elsewhere. But, in this post, we're talking about control IT costs because they can lose focus on the ultimate goal.

I was reading an article from Harvard Business Publishing that gave a very brief and succinct overview of IT costs and how to manage them. The article is by Susan Cramm, link here. We all have budgets that we need to try to stay in and sometimes when the goals are not clearly laid out, budgets are "bent". This is not good. IT investments are rarely cheap, but if your IT team and your vendors work well together uncovering how a solution will bring BENEFITS and RESULTS, the investment will be worthwhile.

However, I do disagree with Ms. Cramm's statement below:

The key to further, smart, cost reductions is to recognize the fact that, in general, companies spend too much on IT because they are unwilling to say "no" to IT-related requests. The path of least resistance seems to rule the day: Too many projects are funded, too many die a slow death, too much technology is procured, too many quality defects are tolerated, and users require too much hand holding.

Through my experience to date, a lot of businesses shut down IT projects/management without looking at what the project's goals are. A great example, your stressed out and over-stretched IT guy manages everything from email/spam management, security processes, phone systems, routers, network management, bandwidth allocation, data management, and puts out all the fires your fellow employees create. Now, any IT guru will say the problems they deal with the most is the nagging processes... email/spam. This results in the IT guy not being able to focus his efforts elsewhere. Imagine if you could pay your service provider to MANAGE your email/spam filters for you?! Your IT guy would thank you and he could focus on solving and creating solutions your business is facing. This project would not suffer a slow death. But, too many businesses are scared to let go of these projects because they are stuck on the idea they have to manage everything for it to work. Take off one of the hats you wear and give it to someone else.

Moving back to the main point of the article, sorry about the little tangent that isn't really applicable to the article. Having clearly defined goals are critical for project success. I recently took a Project Management course and having a PM can really help keep projects on course. Just something to think about.

At the end of the day, businesses need to look at the project's progress and see if the BENEFITS are becoming apparent. If they are not, cancel the project. If there are some delays, but the benefits are being seen, continue a little longer.



Finally, a lot of projects become out-of-hand because the full support from everyone is not there. A problem I see a lot of businesses facing is that only a few people see the benefit of the project and the rest could care less. As a result, people are not depending and routing on its success. It is more of a "status quo" mindset. If you're going to set strict deadlines, you better give the project your best effort. No half-bassing it.

What are your thoughts on this? How have you approached your projects in the past? How are you approaching them currently?

Like the article says how do you manage the "truth" when it comes to your projects?

~the GURU

No IT Clowns Here Part II - Stephen King's "IT"

Companies to need Savvy up their IT

I wrote an article back in December 07, titled "This Isn't Stephen King's "IT"" and as I was reading the Wall Street and Technology web site today, I stumbled across this article about IT. Once again, it addresses the fact that people are so opposed to something they do not understand and refuse to embrace technology. To make matters worse, this author provides no real backing of his assumptions in regards to IT, which, in the end, makes him one of the main reasons IT gets such a bad rap.

Right off the bat, the tone is set incorrectly in this article about how IT should be viewed.

"In good times, the challenge is how to spend the money wisely; and in bad times, the challenge also is how to spend the money wisely."

IT cannot be viewed as simply managing costs associated with developing a business' infrastructure. I'll be one of the first to tell you that IT projects can and are expensive, but if the big picture vision is there and well thought out, success awaits you. Businesses that irresponsibly throw money around will suffer the fate of having a shoddy IT department,

but companies that utilize IT to attack and resolve business inefficiencies have more than just "15 minutes of IT fame."

A sand trap many businesses fall into are getting caught up with "buzz words" and not really seeing how the applications can benefit their business. They buy the product, not the solution. We can thank the salespeople that strive for the quick sale and not the long-term success.

The Author mentions that IT Departments "fail to build a sustainable practical environment" (Habbal, Mayiz 6/11/08). I challenge that remark and to ask how often a business agrees to an IT Project and then quickly disregards it before the solution is implemented!! As the list of insults are thrown at IT, words such as "appalling", "staggering", and my favorite, "exceptionally frightening" are mixed together, it is no wonder people think IT is from Stephen King's novel.

Mayiz Habbal has strong words towards IT, yet no evidence backing up his claims. I understand IT undertakings have failed, but also a lot of flourished. Apple fans love IT. iPhone software is the result of IT investments.

IT helps companies attack inefficiencies. Businesses that have multiple departments and have issues of the "silo effect", by bringing in an ERP solution and allow all those businesses to communicate seamlessly does wonders for breaking down barriers. Walmart owes all of it's inventory success to Information Technology. Its inventory systems allow both the supplier and Walmart to "talk" between intranets with ease.

Imagine if Walmart had to call each one of its suppliers for every store?! YIKES!

Overall, I am not saying IT is perfect. It is not and that is because businesses can be very loose when it comes to investing properly. Then, when a project fails, they blame the IT department when, in the first place, the other departments in the business did not fully harness the solution being presented.

There is no cookie-cutter answer for a business when it comes to IT. Every solution is customized to the business. Forcing a product on a business never leads to success. The product has to provide that solution that answers the issue posing a problem to the business. Once the corporate world realizes this, IT will be basking in the high life.....

~the GURU

A little video of Stephen King's "IT". Your IT guy is not the Clown.

This Isn't Stephen King's "IT"

This post was inspired by this article by Ramon Ray from Entrepreneur.com
http://www.entrepreneur.com/technology/techbasicscolumnist/article172858.html

IT… An abbreviation that, in this day and age, has fashioned and is fashioning three distinct clusters of biz owners. The first yields, for a minute few business owners, hordes of financial capital. These people are IT GUNG HO!! The second is a collection of people reluctantly embracing IT. They are like people in the movie theater watching the scary movie shielding their eyes, hoping the scene changes. They went to the theater to see the show but did not want to become fully involved with what is happening. And, the final tier may be the majority of small and medium sized business owners, and they view IT as just two letters compounded into a useless abbreviation.

Well, guess what!? It’s here to stay. Whether you want to realize it or not, IT or "Information Technology" is here to stay. You cannot be afraid of it. You need to embrace and snuggle up with it. If you treat it right, it will return the favor with great returns on investment (ROI) and make you a leader in your business / industry.

However, you cannot simply throw capital at it. That would be foolish! The four main issues Mr. Ramon Ray touched upon were: “1) Lack of Education 2) Inability to Prioritize 3) Integrating Information, and 4) Data Protection & Security.” (1/10/2007). I will touch briefly upon them and begin to raise awareness of Information System benefits.

1) Lack of Education
“Ignorance is bliss.” You believe that and your biz. will come to an end. One of the reasons a major telecom. company had problems a few years ago was that we refused to change and accept that we needed to amend how we go about providing services to our clients. We were just the “phone company.” We did not fully embrace IT benefits. Now look at us, we are a mean, lean, telecommunications machine providing amazing solutions for real life business demands. I can say that my clients will not suffer this fate, ever. I always make sure you are constantly evolving and innovating.

You need to keep in regular touch with me. While I do speak with you at least once a month, by keeping me (your IT guru) involved, you will never miss a beat. Staying ahead of the game is what it is always about. Educate yourself.
Do not be afraid to say, to either me or even yourself, “I don’t know.”
Personally, the more I mature, the more I realize, I am not afraid to say, “I don’t know” (obviously within reason). If there is a new product, trend, or process I am unsure about, I’ll ask. That way, I learn it right the first time and I show my peers I want to learn. That is the biggest step you can take. Admitting you are not the best enables you to go out, learn, absorb information, and then become the best. Keep in contact with your IT team, ‘nough said.

2) Inability to Prioritize
“You don’t tie your shoes THEN put them on.” Sure, your shoes look cleaner tied, but if your foot is not in the shoe, it is going to be, well, complicated…. Before we even see what is out there in regards to IT, you need to have your short, mid, and long-term goals figured out. Deciding that you want your team to have continuous access to company data in order to be competitive may be the first step in determining that going with a completely wireless mobile network is better than keeping everything under one roof in an office building. The options are endless.

3) Integrating Information
“All systems go, you are cleared for launch” When NASA (pretty cool site, http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html) launches a shuttle worth over a billion dollars, they are more than careful when it comes to its release. The weather, time, engineers, medics, mission control, and the hundreds of other teams that are in involved in the completed product and success of this launch are all on the same page in the count-down sequence. If even one thing is off, the entire mission is delayed. Now that is communication. Your business cannot have the silo effect. IT allows for all departments to be integrated.

“This is more than just Microsoft Excel”
I love it too, but business is not just numbers. Going by numbers strictly may hurt you long term. Your numbers guy needs to speak with the marketing guy who needs to meet with HR who needs to meet with the receptionist, who all meet with the CEO frequently. Everyone needs to fuse together and create one efficient organism. Everyone has good ideas. Even the bad ones give insight. By opening the floor to everyone, ideas will flourish. There are IT applications that allow this too. Whether it is ERP, Blackberries, inventory management, etc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_resource_planning)

4) Data Protection and Security
“Don’t get caught with your pants down” Wear your boxers, wear quality pants, and wear a belt. You skimp on this aspect of IT and be prepared to lose all sustainable competitive advantage, face a couple of law suits because your employees are suing you over their personal information being stolen, and those pictures you scanned from the photocopier of your lovely backside will be available for all to see. Always be prepared. Data back-ups and firewalls are mandatory. You never know what can occur and you want to be pro-active and on the blitzing defensive. That is how the ball game is won.

In closing, meet with your IT employees. Talk to them. Let them know what you are trying to do. If you do not have one, you need to call me. I am your IT contact and consultant. I understand the technologies that I can provide my clients, which may be used for your business advantage. Together we can determine what IT services can be best used to grow your business.

So, you’re in the movie theater, you eyes are covered hoping the scene passes. Do me a favor, uncover your eyes and look at all aspects of the IT scene. Clench and realize, it is not just random gore or suspense too intense to handle. IT is not a scary abbreviation. It’s part of the big picture and it is only getting bigger. You’ll be amazed at how many different pieces comprise an intense scene. Let’s make your business intense and progress it forward.

~The GURU